S3E1: Blind Man's Bluff
by BeyondTheClouds777
Summary: ***THE FIRST EPISODE IN RTTE: FANFICTION SEASON 3B*** When stung by an undocumented dragon, Hiccup becomes temporarily blind. While Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins race to find the cure, Hiccup and Astrid defend the Edge on their own.
1. Chapter 1

**HELLO EVERYONE! :)**

 **So this came out a lot sooner than expected, and I AM EXCITED! :D :D :D Oh, guys, I wanted to tell you that I've decided to write Season 3B in Journal Format, because honestly, I don't have any idea how I'd write Defenders of the Wing Part 2 without diverting from canon plot. So, everything's going to be the same, except it's going to start with a small introduction for Hiccup's "journal entry." You'll see what I mean as soon as you get into the story. :)**

 **Also, some of you guys may have noticed that I took all the Season 3B episode summaries off my profile, and well, that's because I honestly have no idea where I'm going to go with this. The previous summaries I have will all be written; I just don't know the order in which they'll come. I kind of feel like I'm starting to get dragged out of my interest for the HTTYD fandom again, and I don't want that to happen.**

 **Anyways, I'll update this story at my usual pace; however, I don't know when the next "episode" will come out after this, so be patient with me, 'kay? XD Anyways, enjoy chapter 1 of "Blind Man's Bluff"! XD**

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 _In all my years of a dragon rider, we've come across a lot of interesting people, dragons, and even tribes. Frankly, it's pretty incredible. The world is so big, and there's just so much out there that hasn't been explored._

 _For this reason, me, Astrid, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Snotlout, and even some of the other dragon riders, like the ones from Astrid's A-Team, have decided to record the stories of some of our favorite adventures as we explored this big world. We're doing this so the people of future generations won't forget the incredibility of the world around them._

 _Unfortunately, due to a certain Ruffnut and Tuffnut, these events may or may not be one hundred percent accurate. We're all going to be taking turns with the charcoal, so I really can't promise a whole lot of accuracy on the part of the twins._

 _Anyways, without further adieu, let's begin._

 _This should be interesting._

 _-H. H. H. III_

...

In the shadows of the trees, hiding, crouching, was a dragon. The dragon's red scales were hidden well behind the autumn, red-yellow leaves of the bushes, and only its eyes would be visible to a passerby. The dragon's bright yellow eyes, pupils narrowed into slits, squinted through the trees, towards the buildings, bathed in bright sunlight, nearby.

The dragon narrowed its eyes.

…

"Come on, come on, one more!" said Tuffnut, standing on a mace, balancing on one foot. On his head, over his helmet, Ruffnut had stacked dozens of axe heads, swords, and hammers, that were swaying precariously as Tuffnut lost and regained his balance.

Ruffnut pulled a stool over and leapt on it, a mace in hand. She still had to stand on her tiptoes to balance the final mace on Tuffnut's head. "Now, hold it, hold it…" said Ruffnut, jumping backwards off the stool and walking away slowly, watching Tuffnut at all times. "Hold it...wait for it…"

She listened. Footsteps thumped against the floorboards, directly outside the door; Tuffnut was standing just behind the doorway, inside the Clubhouse.

"Aaaannndd…" said Ruffnut, pausing; the door cracked open- _"NOW!"_

Tuffnut jerked his head backwards, and the dozens of weapons that had been balanced over his head toppled towards the ground, directly in front of the open door. Snotlout, who had just been about to step foot in the Clubhouse, screamed indignantly and leapt backwards.

 _"LOOOOKKKIIIII'D!"_ cheered the twins, and they cackled in triumph.

"Oh, you should have seen the look on your _face!"_ laughed Tuffnut, and he slapped his knee. "I will remember that forever."

"Come on, guys! Seriously!?" snapped Snotlout, stepping over the weapons to get into the Clubhouse. Behind him, Hookfang growled at the weapons, and then, lifted his ember eyes to glare at the twins. Ruffnut and Tuffnut, undaunted, gathered up the weapons and carried them to the other side of the room, where they dumped them in a large chest and shut the lid.

"Does Hiccup know you have those?" Fishlegs' voice asked, and he stepped into the Clubhouse, Meatlug following him apprehensively, as if expecting more weapons to drop out of nowhere.

"Um, we're hoping he doesn't," said Tuffnut.

"Yeah, we stole them from the armory when no one was looking," said Ruffnut.

"You shouldn't have done that!" said Fishlegs, shocked. "Those weapons need to stay in the armory where we can grab them in case of an attack! If you keep moving them around, no one will know where they are when they need them!"

"Okay, okay, sheesh, chill out, Fishlegs," said Tuffnut, putting forward his hands. "We, for one, are _against_ getting killed, remember? In which case, we will return the weapons to the armory...later."

Fishlegs gave them a pointed look.

"Okay, fine! Now!" said Tuffnut, and he leapt off the chest, threw open the lid, and hauled an armful of weapons outside. Ruffnut grabbed another armful and followed her brother out, dropping a dagger or two along the way.

Fishlegs sighed. "What are we going to do with those two?" he moaned.

"If you ask me, Fishlegs," said Snotlout, scratching his chin, "this could be an opportunity for us."

"Um...it could be?" said Fishlegs nervously.

"Of course it could be!" said Snotlout, grinning. "If they want to Loki us, well, I say we Loki them right back!" He pounded his fist into his open palm for emphasis. Fishlegs was a bit more cautious.

"No, Snotlout," he said.

"Oh, come on!" said Snotlout. "I need your brains, Fishlegs! We will prank the twins into oblivion before they know what number comes after three! _Please?"_

Fishlegs looked on hesitantly. "I guess...as long as we don't _really_ prank the twins into oblivion," said Fishlegs, twiddling his thumbs.

"Great!" said Snotlout, grinning. "Then let's get to work! I have some great ideas!"

…

Toothless and Stormfly soared over the forests of Dragon's Edge. Nearby Night Terrors scattered from tree branches and leapt into the sky, spreading their wings and soaring alongside the Night Fury and Deadly Nadder.

Astrid, mounted on Stormfly, surveyed the ground below with a hand on her forehead to shield her eyes from the light of the bright sun. "I don't see any Berserkers," she called over to Hiccup on Toothless. "Or hunters!"

"In which case," said Hiccup, "I think we're good! We'll double back around, check the ocean one last time, and then head back to the Edge!"

Astrid nodded, and the duo turned their dragons and shot over the ocean. Waves crashed against each other, and the rocky shores were covered in seaweed and seashells.

"The tide's coming in," said Astrid, pointing ahead. "There are a few waves coming towards us. They shouldn't make it to the base, but they'll mess up the shores quite a bit."

"As long as no one's on the shores when that happens," said Hiccup, "I don't think we need to worry about it. What we _do_ need to worry about, is Dagur and his Berserkers. Not to mention dragon hunters."

Astrid nodded. "Right," she said. "We should check around those sea stacks and make sure they aren't trying to sneak up on us."

"Good plan," said Hiccup, and the dragons soared on, circled around the nearest sea stacks and, when the oceans were deemed free of enemy ships, headed back to the Edge.

…

Snotlout finished tying off a rope to a tree branch that hung over the twins' hut, and then, grinning fiendishly, headed off to find Fishlegs. Fishlegs was encamped behind the twins' residence, still looking unbelievably nervous.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Snotlout?" said Fishlegs. "I mean, I don't think Hiccup and Astrid would approve of this."

"Since when do Hiccup and Astrid approve of _any_ of my ideas?" said Snotlout hotly, crouching beside Fishlegs. "And besides, the twins _love_ Lokis, don't they? If they like pranks, they'll _love_ this one."

Fishlegs swallowed thickly. It was really too late to back out of it, and even if _he_ did, _Snotlout_ certainly wouldn't.

And so they waited.

And then, it happened.

"And then, the chicken said, 'would that be one lump, or two'?" Tuffnut recounted a joke to Ruffnut inside their hut, and Ruffnut laughed, reaching her hand towards the door. But when she pushed it open, Snotlout's trap was triggered, and a large bucket, hung over their door, was tipped, and the twins were drenched from head to toe in golden, sticky _something_.

"Oh, great, what is _this?"_ said Ruffnut, holding up her hand. "This stuff is _nasty_."

Tuffnut, in a moment of brilliance, licked his finger. "Huh," he said. "That's weird, it tastes like honey." He paused, licked it again, and frowned. "It _is_ honey!" he decided.

Behind the hut, Snotlout's triumphant cackling could be heard, and though Fishlegs didn't want to, he, too, found himself laughing. The twins stomped over, their steps slow due to the amount of honey that had been dumped over them, and when they came to the back of their residence, they crossed their arms.

" _LOKI'D!"_ laughed Snotlout, barely able to get the word out due to his hysterical laughter. "If only you could see how you look right now! You'd be laughing, too!"

Ruffnut, growling angrily, flicked her hand; a large blob of honey flung at Snotlout, shutting up his laughing by splatting right in his face. Snotlout wasn't laughing now, but the twins certainly would. In fact, they laughed so hard they were doubled over, clutching their ribs.

"HEY!" protested Snotlout.

"Do we really need to say it, dear brother?" asked Ruffnut to her twin.

"I think we do," said Tuffnut, grinning.

And then, together: _"LOKI'D!"_

They sauntered off, high-fiving, splattering more honey wherever they went. Snotlout growled under his breath and, without even thinking about what he was doing, tackled the twins to the ground.

"Hey!" Tuffnut protested, and then, he realized something.

He was covered in honey.

Grinning fiendishly, right around the same time Snotlout realized his mistake and tried to escape, Tuffnut smeared honey all over Snotlout's face. When Snotlout tried to make a break for it, Ruffnut grabbed him by the wrist and tackled him herself.

Needless to say, Snotlout's prank had turned on him.

And poor Fishlegs watched, and he laughed harder than ever, feeling somewhat remorseful for helping Snotlout in his prank, and somewhat thrilled because Snotlout's prank had turned the tides.

…

Toothless and Stormfly shot through the air like arrows, back towards Dragon's Edge. The sight they came back to was both hilarious and disturbing.

 _"WHAT_ in the _NAME OF…?"_ Hiccup stuttered helplessly for a moment, and then, zeroing down on Toothless, landed beside the mess of honey, Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut. Astrid landed Stormfly beside him, and both riders dismounted, approaching Fishlegs for answers.

"Fishlegs, what is happening?" Astrid said, gesturing in the direction of the three wrestling Loki'ers, covered from head to toe in amber-colored honey.

"I wish I could say this was the weirdest thing they've done," said Hiccup, "but honestly, Fishlegs. Why are they…" He didn't exactly know how to describe what he was seeing.

But Fishlegs understood. He sighed. "The twins took the weapons from the armory this morning and used them to prank Snotlout," he said. "So, Snotlout wanted revenge, and...well...that happened."

"Right…" said Hiccup. "Okay...that makes sense to someone...Snotlout! Ruffnut! Tuffnut!" he shouted, and they stopped wrestling instantly, finally realizing Hiccup and Astrid had arrived.

"Oh," they said in unison, and like little kids who had been caught red-handed sneaking a cookie from the cookie jar, they stood up, looking down.

Hiccup crossed his arms, as did Astrid beside him.

"We've told you, Loki'ing is nothing but trouble," said Astrid furiously. "Do you know how hard it is to find honey? I mean, honestly. We need it for medical purposes."

Snotlout pointed a honey-dripping finger at Fishlegs. "His idea," he accused.

"It was not!" protested Fishlegs, taking a step backwards just in case Snotlout decided to honey-coat Fishlegs, too. "It was your idea!"

"But _you_ approved!" snapped Snotlout.

"It doesn't matter whose idea it was, _or_ who approved!" Hiccup said, before his friends could _really_ start yelling at each other. "You three," he gestured to Snotlout and the twins, "go to the lagoon and wash up. You'll be taking patrol for the rest of the day as punishment."

Growling under their breaths, but not arguing, Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut headed off, sulking.

"Hiccup, I'm sorry," said Fishlegs. "I _did_ approve."

"I get it, Fishlegs," said Hiccup.

"But, if you want something to quench your guilt," said Astrid, jabbing her thumb over her shoulder, "you can clear the honey off the ground."

Fishlegs nodded eagerly. "And I'll never listen to Snotlout again," Fishlegs decided.

"I'm glad," said Hiccup. "And I'll definitely be having a little talk with the twins about the weapons from the armory."

"You would think," said Astrid, "after all the times people have tried to look for us and hunt us, they would know better than to use our weapons without asking."

Fishlegs nodded in agreement and got to work on clearing away the rest of the honey. Meatlug watched him in curiosity. Hiccup and Astrid, meanwhile, turned and left with their dragons to the Clubhouse.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, my readers! :D I love you guys! :) Thanks so much for the reviews last chapter! Ah, it's good to be writing again! :) Shout-outs:**

 **Charr2003: Hahaha, thanks! :D It's good to be back! I missed you guys! XD Yes, I can definitely promise some Hiccstrid, so don't worry about that! :) I can also promise a lot of Hiccstrid working as a team as well, so look forward to that, my friend! :D Thanks for the review! :D**

 **Dimensional Girl: HAHahahahahahaha! You just nailed it! Got that right! XD Snotlout's like the older brother and the twins are the younger siblings. And you nailed Hiccup, Astrid and Fishlegs. XD Thanks for reviewing! :D**

 **wikelia: Haha, yeah, poor Fishface. XD**

 **ShadowSpirt020: Thanks! :) I think season 1B will continue pretty soon, but I honestly have no idea when. Probably sometime after this one's finished, hopefully. :D Thanks for the review! :)**

 **hiccupandtoothless294: This is still set in the RttE timeline, probably set in the middle of Season 2. :)**

 **DinoBoy13: Yeah, you would think so, right? Unfortunately, no such luck when it comes to the twins and Snotlout. XD**

 **TwistFate159: Thanks! I'm really excited about this one! XD**

 **Emachinescat: Thank you! :D I haven't finished all of season 3 just yet, but yeah, what I've seen of it so far is great! :D I thought the first episode was a little strange with Dagur, but other than that, I'm having a lot of fun watching this show! :D Thanks for the review! :D**

 **Zoha Ven: HAHAHAHAHAHAA! That's what happens to me all the time whenever something happens in my favorite fandoms. I shriek. Sometimes I'm alone, and other times, well, not so alone...*cough* XD Thanks for the review! :D**

 **Crystallion12: Thanks! :) Oops...sorry about that...basically, season 3B is going to be set sometime BEFORE or DURING season 3. Season 3 isn't going to have a very set-in-stone timeline; the two-parter episodes will, but the rest of them can either happen before or during season 3. Hope that clears it up a bit. :D Thanks for reviewing! :)**

 **midnightsky0612: Thanks! :)**

 **Guest (#1): I'm glad! :)**

 **AquaticDragon: Hahahahahahahahahahahaha, thank you so much! XD**

 **Star-The-Writer: Thanks! :D**

 **Galaxy-Mitsuko-Pegasus: Haha, thanks! :D I myself love pranks, so it's even funner to put it in with these HTTYD characters! XD Thanks for reviewing! :)**

 **1 Fan: Hahahaha, thanks! :D**

 **LunarCatNinja: It's alright, I haven't actually finished all of season 3, either. I get what you're saying, though; that episode with Dagur was REALLY strange. I think Hiccup acted weird in it, too, even though that can be excused by his failure against Viggo, but still. :) I'm glad you like the story so far! :D Thanks! :D**

 **Guest (#2): Aw, thank you! :D**

 **SilverGhostWolf: Yeah, I agree. :) Heather won't be in this "episode". However, I think she'll definitely be in some later ones. :D Thanks for the review! :)**

 **DragonSomething: Hahahahahahahaa, yeah, I love keeping people on their toes! That's what authors do best, am I right? :D Yeah, I love writing action scenes and adventure stuff as much as the next person, but sometimes I also like to give the characters some time off. XD Catch the readers off-guard when something DOES happen. :D Aww, thank you a bunch! XD Thanks for the review! :D**

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The golden-eyed dragon slunk through the Edge at nightfall, weaving between buildings, its long, pointed tail leaving long gashes through the wood. Inside Astrid's residence, Stormfly lifted her head, looked around for a moment, and when she saw nothing, laid down and went to sleep once again.

The dragon scuttled around, scanning the surroundings. What were these _humans_ doing here, on _his_ territory? it wondered. It had been there first, far before the humans. The humans had no right to come here.

The dragon scraped its talons against one of the houses, and then slashed its pointed tail against the side of another. This would give the humans a warning, and if it didn't, its next visit _definitely_ would.

…

Snotlout pulled open the hatch leading to his hut, yawning and rubbing sleep out of his eyes. Behind him, Hookfang stretched and yawned, and he and his rider headed out of the residence, into the warm morning.

"Ugh, I'm so sore," Snotlout complained as if someone were listening, rubbing the back of his neck and stretching his arms, wincing. "Stupid Ruffnut and Tuffnut. So _they_ get to prank everyone as much as they want, but oh no, Thor forbid anyone should get _revenge_."

Hookfang growled, which could have meant anything.

"You're right!" said Snotlout angrily, kicking a nearby rock. "It _isn't_ fair!"

Hookfang snorted, clearly uninterested, and sauntered off to get himself some breakfast. Snotlout, meanwhile, arms crossed, stormed in the opposite direction, muttering crossly under his breath.

He stormed into the Clubhouse, where Hiccup, Fishlegs, and Astrid were, and threw his hands into the air over his head. "Hiccup!" he shouted. "You have to do something about the twins!"

"Are they still Loki'ing you?" Hiccup asked, unconcerned, fiddling with a piece of charcoal.

"No!" snapped Snotlout. "But it'll only be a matter of time before they strike again, and do you know who their first target is going to be?"

Hiccup, Astrid, and Fishlegs gave Snotlout pointed looks.

"That's right!" said Snotlout. "Me!"

"Maybe it's because you're so compassionate," offered Astrid, grabbing her axe off a barrel and running her thumb along its blade. "You know, like a Screaming Death."

"Haha, you're one to talk!" said Snotlout, jabbing a finger at her. "But mark my words, Astrid Hofferson! When the twins start going after _you_ , you're going to wish you had listened to me while you had the chance!"

"Snotlout, I'll talk to the twins," said Hiccup, "but, quite frankly, they don't Loki us _that_ often."

"And pranking people is what they live for," said Fishlegs. "It's what they're good at. Just like you're good at not being good at anything."

"That's different!" said Snotlout. "I'm telling you, the twins won't stop!"

At that moment, Ruffnut and Tuffnut burst through the doors of the Clubhouse. Their eyes fell on Astrid, Hiccup, Fishlegs, and then, finally, Snotlout.

"THERE YOU ARE, YOU TRICKSTER!" shouted Tuffnut angrily, pointing a finger in Snotlout's face. "I knew it! I knew you couldn't help it!"

"Couldn't help _what?"_ said Snotlout, knocking Tuffnut's hand out of his face.

"Pranking us!" added Ruffnut hotly. "You can try all you want, but we know better!"

"What are you talking about?" said Snotlout. "I didn't prank you guys today!"

"Uh-huh," said Tuffnut, "that's _exactly_ what someone who pranked us today would _say."_

"If you didn't prank us," said Ruffnut, "how do you explain the scratches in our walls, or the fact that the entire bottom floor of our house looks like it's been _ransacked?"_

"Ransacked?" said Snotlout. "Oh, _pa-lease_. What could you two possibly have that I would try and steal from you?"

"And," said Fishlegs, "if Snotlout _did_ go into your house, wouldn't you have seen him? Heard him messing stuff up?"

"Of course we wouldn't have!" said Ruffnut angrily. "We weren't _in_ our house yesterday! We were still trying to get honey out of our hair!"

"Do you know," said Tuffnut, "the _struggle_ , of getting honey out of your hair? Especially when you have _long_ hair?"

Snotlout sighed. "I didn't prank you," he said. "See, Hiccup? This is exactly what I'm talking about! They probably set this whole thing up! Watch! We'll go to their hut, _there won't be any scratches, or mess_ , and the twins are going to get right up in our faces and screech that annoying, _LOKI'D!"_

"We wouldn't do that!" said Ruffnut.

"Or, we might _now_ that you gave us the idea," said Tuffnut, "but we definitely didn't do it ourselves. We're not smart enough for that."

Hiccup sighed. "Alright," he said, "I'll bite. Let's see these 'scratches' on your hut, and we'll decide the cultrip of it then."

"Okay!" said Snotlout. "But I'm telling you, this is a load of nonsense. There won't be any gashes!"

…

Outside Ruffnut and Tuffnut's hut, Snotlout stared upwards at the wall, mouth hanging open. "Okay," he said, "so there are a _few_ little scratches, _but that doesn't prove anything!"_

Snotlout's description of the gashes was definitely underestimated. Fishlegs stepped forward and ran his hand along one of the long, massive scratches, brows furrowed.

"These aren't a _few little scratches_ , Snotlout," said Fishlegs skeptically. "These are _ginormous_. I've never seen these kind of cuts before, even in Bork's papers or the book of dragons."

"What do you think it means?" said Ruffnut, crossing her arms, unamused. "Snotlout could have easily taken a sword and done them, couldn't he?"

"No," said Fishlegs, "these were definitely made by dragon talons."

"Hookfang!" said Tuffnut.

"For the last time, _I AM INNOCENT_ ," shouted Snotlout angrily. "Why do you guys have so little trust in me!?"

At this, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs, Hiccup, and Astrid glared at him. Snotlout groaned loudly and put up his hands.

"Well, there was that time you stole the Changewing egg when we told you not to," said Hiccup, "and nearly got everyone on Berk killed."

"There was the time you tried to abandon us on Breakneck Bog, just because you were afraid of a few Smothering Smokebreaths," said Astrid. "We nearly got killed then, too."

"In my defense, everyone else was backing out, too!" said Snotlout, crossing his arms.

"The time you crashlanded me and Toothless on Outcast island," said Hiccup.

"The time you overworked Hookfang so hard he almost died," said Fishlegs.

"AND NOT TO MENTION THE _HONEY_ YOU PUT OVER OUR DOOR!" said Ruffnut and Tuffnut.

"Need we go on?" said Astrid, crossing her arms.

"Fine, you got me there!" said Snotlout. "But I didn't do it! And neither did Hookfang!"

"Honestly, guys," said Fishlegs, examining the gashes, "these can't be from Hookfang. They're too far apart to be a Monstrous Nightmare, and anyways, when a Monstrous Nightmare is infuriated, they light themselves on fire, and I don't see any scorch marks _anywhere_."

"You're right," said Hiccup, "and look how _deep_ they are...this definitely wasn't Hookfang. It wasn't _any_ of our dragons."

"The only dragon I can think off the top of my head with talons this big is the Titan Wing Monstrous Nightmare," said Fishlegs, "but we would've seen a Titan Wing _anything_ coming from a mile away."

"And normally when Titan Wings strike," said Astrid, "they strike for a reason. I seriously doubt a Titan Wing made these gashes."

"Let's take a look inside," said Hiccup. "Maybe there's some other clue that could help us figure out just what kind of dragon we're dealing with."

Ruffnut and Tuffnut led the way into their hut, and the others and their dragons followed them.

"Wow," said Fishlegs, "you weren't _kidding_ when you said this place was a mess."

Tables and chairs were overturned, and buckets and spears were scattered across the floor. Tuffnut's chicken stood on an overturned stool, clucking angrily and shaking its head at its surroundings.

"Yeah," said Tuffnut, "and we didn't touch any of the evidence. This was how we found it."

"Weird," said Astrid. "Is anything missing, or is it just a mess?"

"No," said Ruffnut, "everything's just, you know…" She mimicked an explosion with her hands. "Boom."

"Boom," agreed Tuffnut seriously, nodding.

"This doesn't make any sense," said Fishlegs. "Why would a dragon wreck the outside of your house, and then the inside, too, without actually destroying anything?" He studied the doorframe; even the door was off its hinges.

"Whatever did this meant business," said Hiccup, "but that still doesn't explain why they didn't destroy anything."

"And why it didn't hurt anyone," said Astrid. "We were all here, and I think it knew we were. If it wanted to hurt someone, it would have done it."

"Maybe the twins Loki'd the dragon," said Snotlout, crossing his arms. "Maybe that's why it attacked their hut and none of ours."

"No...I think it attacked the twins hut," said Hiccup, "because they weren't home. Whatever this thing is, it doesn't want to be spotted."

"It's elusive," said Fishlegs. "Maybe nocturnal, too? We didn't see it during the day."

"It's hard to say," said Hiccup. "The biggest question is, why attack us at all? There has to be a reason."

"Maybe it's hostile towards humans," said Astrid. "We have come across a few dragons like that in the past."

"Um...guys?" said Tuffnut.

"Not now, Tuffnut, we're thinking," said Snotlout. "So, this is a nocturnal kind of dragon with gigantic talons, a bad attitude, and elusive nature."

"Guys," said Ruffnut slowly.

"Not now, Ruffnut!" said Snotlout angrily.

"NO, GUYS, SERIOUSLY," said Tuffnut. "I can tell you a lot about the dragon, if you want to hear it."

"Oh, really?" said Snotlout challengingly. "What do you know about the dragon, Tuffnut?"

"It's big," said Tuffnut, staring blankly up at the sky. "Ginormous. It's red, with long, jagged talons, yellow eyes, and a pointed tail like a scorpions."

"Oh," said Snotlout, twirling his finger around his temple, "right. And how in the name of Thor do you know _that?"_

Tuffnut grinned. "Look up," he said.

And the riders turned in unison and looked up at the sky. Approaching them from above was a giant dragon with scales the color of blood and eyes like a Death Song's amber. It roared; the sound was like a saw through log, and much louder. Its tail curled, just like Tuffnut had said, and a long point not unlike a Speed Stinger's, only five times the size.

"What," said Astrid slowly, "is. _That?"_

Snotlout screamed. "Not a prank! Not a prank!"

"Hey, but on the bright side, Snotlout," said Tuffnut. "at least you'll die knowing that your friends finally recognize your innocence."

"Everyone, mount up!" Hiccup called, and the riders instantly mounted their dragons. Snotlout was a bit more reluctant.

"WAIT!" he cried. "You want to go _towards_ the angry, scorpion dragon that wants to kill us!?"

"When do we _not?"_ said Astrid, and their dragons spread their wings and took to the sky, flying straight towards the approaching blood-red dragon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, my beautiful viewers! :) Thank you so so so so so so so SO much for all the reviews last chapter! :D Unfortunately, my email's kinda acting up, so I'm going to have to write you guys a rain check on those shout-outs (I'm sorry! :( ) but I'll do them next chapter, I promise! :D Enjoy chapter 3! :)**

* * *

Stormfly swerved to avoid one of the dragon's swooping talons, and once she was out of the way, the dragon turned its attention to the next nearest dragon rider to it, which just so happened to be Fishlegs and Meatlug.

"Oh no," moaned Fishlegs, as the dragon turned and sped towards it, teeth gnashed, talons clawing the air in anticipation. "Why do these things always happen to me? Meatlug, drop!" Meatlug folded her wings along her back and dropped, straight down, avoiding the dragon's claws with flying colors.

"Yoo-hoo!" sang Ruffnut nearby, waving her hands over her head. The dragon whipped its head around, staring at her, as if wondering whether or not she was taunting him, and wondering just how _stupid_ she had to have been if she _was_. "Mr. Bad Tempered! Over here!"

"Yeah, c'mon, Rusty!" shouted Tuffnut tauntingly, pointing to himself. "Fresh meat, right here!"

The dragon roared at them, clearly unamused, and sped through the sky, wings pounding, hot breath fogging in the sky. Barf and Belch dove out of the way, and the dragon missed them by a mile.

Fishlegs straightened his helmet; it had been falling in his face, covering his eyes. "The dragon is gigantic," said Fishlegs, watching as the monstrous red dragon chased after the twins, "but that gives us an advantage! Everyone, fly in zig-zags! When you make turns, cut them sharp!"

"Fishlegs is right!" Hiccup shouted over the sky to those who weren't paying attention – namely Snotlout and the twins. Snotlout, because paying attention was not one of his stronger points, and the twins, because they were trying to ditch the maniacal dragon trying to snap them in half with its teeth.

"Fly in zig-zags!" Hiccup shouted.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut tried to listen to him, but when Barf turned his head to go to the left in a zig-zag, Belch turned his head in the opposite direction to attempt a zig-zag, and in the end, the results were near fatal. Snotlout rammed Hookfang into the side of the dragon, knocking it away from the twins just as it was about to close its jaws around the two Vikings and their Zippleback.

"Flying in zig-zags doesn't work with us, Hiccup!" said Ruffnut angrily. "See how easy zig-zags are when _you're_ the one riding a two-headed dragon!"

Tuffnut, however, thought it was hilarious. "Haha!" he said. "We're gonna die! We're gonna die, die, diediediediedie…"

"Okay, everyone!" Hiccup shouted. "Scatter! He can't follow all of us!"

The dragon riders nodded in agreement and did just as he had commanded, flying in opposite directions, zig-zagging whenever they had the chance. Hiccup stopped flying before the others did, hovering with Toothless in the sky, watching the bright red dragon. For a few moments, the dragon, which the twins had nicknamed Rusty, looked around, trying to decide which human and dragon duo to chase.

He looked at Hiccup and Toothless, who were closest to it.

Hiccup and Toothless looked back at it, and then, Hiccup sighed heavily. He should have known he would be the one the dragon picked to follow.

"Oh no," whispered Hiccup, and Toothless turned and soared off. The dragon shot through the sky after them, eyes narrowed in fury. Toothless took basic escape maneuvers, weaving and turning through clear sky to avoid the oncoming, roaring dragon.

The dragon opened its giant, gaping mouth, coming up on them, nearly on top of them, inching closer, and closer, and closer-

Ruffnut and Tuffnut suddenly rammed Barf and Belch into Rusty's side, and the dragon, with a roar, was knocked a good ten feet in the opposite direction, away from Hiccup and Toothless and themselves.

"YEAH!" cheered the twins, as the dragon shook its head to clear the dizziness and roared at them in anger. "LOKI'D!"

Snotlout arrived out of nowhere and watched as the dragon shook itself, trying to clear its head. "For once," said Snotlout, "I think your pranks are awesome! Come on, Hookfang! Let's run it off of Dragon's Edge!" Hookfang nodded in agreement, and rider and dragon soared towards Rusty, who was now finding his wings once more and very, very, very angry.

The dragon stared Hookfang down, and sped towards him, ready to meet him in battle. However, Rusty didn't get far before Stormfly spun out of nowhere and slammed into the dragon from below, catching him square in the stomach.

"Yes!" cheered Astrid, throwing her hands into the air. "Good job, Stormfly!" Stormfly screeched in thanks.

To be honest, it wasn't really a fair fight, but to say who was winning it would have been impossible. It was anyone's game, frankly.

Stormfly and Astrid quickly swerved out of talon-range to avoid getting sliced. Fishlegs circled the sky above Rusty, watching him.

"Interesting," said Fishlegs. " _Very_ interesting. The dragon doesn't seem to have fire! If he did, he would have used it on us by now!"

"OOOH, GREAT!" said Snotlout, as Hookfang shot desperately in the opposite direction, flying in zig-zags with Rusty hot on his tail. "What are you going to do, call it the Flameless Death? 'Cause that is a horrible name!"

Hiccup and Toothless soared towards the dragon, just as it opened its mouth, ready to snap Hookfang and Snotlout between its jaws. Toothless fired a plasma blast at the dragon's side, and Rusty, though unharmed by the plasma blast, turned away from Snotlout and narrowed his eyes at Hiccup and Toothless.

Hiccup smiled nervously, realizing what he had just done.

"My bad," he said. Rusty turned and took off after him, and Toothless, in return, took off as well, once again weaving himself through the sky. This time, the dragon was determined. It would take down Hiccup and Toothless, who seemed to be the Alpha of the other humans. Once they were down, the other humans would take a hint.

They'd _better_.

Stormfly fired a blast at Rusty, but the bright red dragon didn't stop. Ruffnut and Tuffnut leapt out in front of it on their Zippleback, but before they had the chance to actually do anything, Rusty swerved, flew beneath them, and kept following Hiccup and Toothless.

Hiccup glanced over his shoulder. This definitely wasn't good. The dragon was getting closer, and no amount of lava or fire spat at it from the other riders would get it off their tail.

Toothless turned his head and fired a single plasma blast; he managed to hit the dragon's front talon, but instead of harming it, he only served to make it more angry. Rusty roared at them. Hiccup swallowed hard.

"This is bad, this is bad, this is really really _bad_ ," he chanted to himself as Toothless weaved through the sky, below the few clouds, and around a nearby sea stack. Toothless doubled back around, towards the Edge, and with him followed Rusty, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, the twins, and their dragons.

"Astrid! Fishlegs! Snotlout! Ruffnut! Tuffnut!" Hiccup shouted to them over his shoulder, hoping against hope they could hear him. "Get on the ground and use the nets!"

"WHAT!?" shouted the twins. "WHAT!?"

"The nets!" Hiccup yelled, and he let out a wobbly _"Whoa!"_ as Toothless swerved, barely missing Rusty's swinging talon. " _GET ON THE GROUND AND USE THE NETS! THE BOLAS! THE ANYTHING!"_

"Oooh, _those_ nets!" said Tuffnut. "The ones that cause super epic awesomeness! YES!"

"Got it!" said Astrid to Hiccup, and she zeroed down towards the ground on Stormfly, pursued by Fishlegs, Snotlout, and the twins. Stormfly, Meatlug, Hookfang, and Barf and Belch hit the ground, and the riders leapt off their backs, racing into the armory, grabbing bola-shooting crossbows and racing back outside the instant they had them.

They took aim, and the dragons crouched, ready to pounce should the blood-red dragon try and harm their riders.

Meanwhile, Hiccup tried to steer downwards, to get himself close enough to pull Rusty in range of the crossbows, but Rusty was too smart for that. Whenever Hiccup went below, Rusty would go the long way around and attempt to ram Hiccup from the front.

It wasn't working.

Somehow, Rusty could predict his every move and react accordingly.

"Okay, Toothless, let's ditch the crazy dragon," said Hiccup, leaning over Toothless' neck to prepare himself. "What say you, bud?"

Toothless growled in agreement, throwing an angry look at the dragon over his shoulder.

"In which case," said Hiccup, "we'll try position...let's say four." He switched gears on Toothless' prosthetic tailfin, and the Night Fury sped on, in front of Rusty.

On the ground, Astrid aimed her crossbow straight up at Rusty, and then groaned. "He isn't close enough!" she complained, looking angry enough to throw down the crossbow altogether. "I can't get a clear shot!"

"Why don't we get on the dragons and fire them?" said Tuffnut. "We'll _always_ have a clear shot if we can get up in the sky and _follow_ Bad-Tempered."

"Because trying to shoot a bola accurately from a dragon's back is as hard as trying to open an oyster while riding side-saddle on a deranged bull!" said Fishlegs.

"What was that now?" said Snotlout, lowering the crossbow, brows furrowed in confusion.

"We can't have poor aim," said Fishlegs sharply, "or we risk hitting Hiccup and Toothless!"

"Well, why didn't you just say so?" said Tuffnut, taking aim with the crossbow again.

Astrid kept her crossbow at the ready, waiting for the right time to fire it, the instant Rusty got in firing range.

Meanwhile, up in the sky, Toothless kept weaving himself in zig-zags through the air, but no matter how fast they went, or which gear they used, Rusty was always right on top of them, talons slashing and teeth gnashing.

Hiccup swallowed thickly. "Okay," he said, "so ditching the dragon isn't working." He glanced over his shoulder. Rusty was close. Too close. And suddenly, he was on them, flanking them, glaring at them with golden amber eyes.

He raised his scorpion-like tail and snaked it forward.

"Hiccup!" Astrid shouted from below, lowering the crossbow to get a better look at just what had happened.

Hiccup, with a gasp of pain, clutched his arm as Rusty pulled back his tail, watching in satisfaction. Hiccup's vision blurred. His mind became fog. And before he was acutely aware of what was happening, he and Toothless were spiralling towards the forest below, Rusty hot on their trail.

"Everyone, mount!" Astrid shouted, and she and the other riders leapt onto their dragons, took up their crossbows, and soared in that direction, following after Rusty, Hiccup, and Toothless.

Hiccup and Toothless hit the ground after hitting multiple trees on the way down. The trees served to break their fall, but even then, the fall hurt. Hiccup stood up dazedly, blinking rapidly, but his vision was still blurry, though his mind was considerably clearer.

"Okay," Hiccup said, taking a step backwards, still blinking madly and rubbing at his eyes. "Where are we?"

Rusty landed a few feet away from them, long, blood-red talons digging into the grassy ground of the forest floor. Toothless growled warningly at the dragon, and Rusty growled back. The red dragon crouched low to the ground, ready to pounce-

Bolas wrapped around his legs and wings, pinning his ankles together and his wings to his back. The dragon turned its head and roared, but another well-timed bola clamped its jaws shut.

"Snotlout, Snotlout, oy, oy, oy!" cheered Snotlout in triumph, pumping his fist into the air. Rusty growled lowly, but that was all he could do from his new position, tied by thick bolas he couldn't break and muzzled with ropes of the same manner.

Stormfly, Meatlug, Hookfang, Barf and Belch landed on the ground, and their riders dismounted, charging over to Hiccup and Toothless. "Hiccup!" they called, and Hiccup, still clutching his arm, blinked, trying to figure out just where they were coming from. His vision was darkening now, speckles of black dancing across his line of sight, and he blinked again. They were dizzying him.

"Are you alright?" Astrid asked instantly. "We saw the stinger hit you, are you okay?"

Hiccup paused a moment, thought about her question, and then shook his head, half to clear the dizziness, and half to answer Astrid's question. "I can't see," he said, and then, he repeated it. "I can't see…"


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, peoples! :) Welcome to the next chapter! :) This should be interesting! :) Anyways, as promised, here are the shout-outs for you amazing people! :D**

 **ShadowSpirt020: Exactly! Find the cure, gang! :D**

 **Dimensional Girl: LOL, that's hilarious! XD**

 **Martyn: Meh. Maybe next time. XD**

 **AvaniAcrux: Yeah, poor Hiccup. I'm really too evil to him for my own good. Oh well. I think everyone here kinda likes a bit of Hiccup!whump, so I think I'm good. XD It's sort of the opposite of that, where the reviews show up on Fanfiction but not in my email inbox. It just makes shout-outs a bit trickier, 'cause I don't know when the reviews come in and fanfiction isn't always reliable. XD Thanks for the review! :D**

 **Animals Rule: That he is. :)**

 **SilverGhostWolf: Gah, evil dragon! Awesome dragon! Half-and-half dragon! XD Thanks! :D**

 **wikelia: Hahaha, same! XD**

 **midnightsky0612: My thoughts exactly! :)**

 **Crystallion12: Yeah, I know, right? Poor guy. :(**

 **ChariaRose: Awww, haha, thank you so much! :D I never know what to say when I get compliments. XD I'm glad you're enjoying it so far! :D Thanks for the review! :)**

 **AquaticDragon: Thanks! :D Yeah, I'd never seen a story like this before, either, so I'm having a lot of fun with it! :D I'm glad you're enjoying it! :D**

 **Jo: Hahaha, well, you're right. We all just love to see Hiccup kidnapped when he's vulnerable, don't we? XD Thanks for the review! :)**

 **DG-Agent37-Lover: Haha, well, I love intense scenes, and it looks like most my readers like 'em, too, so I look forward to doing more in the near future! :D Ah, yes, we all love the twins and their crazy dragon-naming skills (hahaha, SKILLS *sarcasm* But anyways, I'm glad you enjoy it! :D Yeah, I'd be freaking out if I was in Hiccup's shoe, but I guess the guy's kinda been through too much for his own good. XD Thanks for the review! :D**

 **Secret: Let's see what happens! :D**

 **DinoBoy13: Haha, well, I guess the summary kinda gives away who goes blind, but no matter. XD Thanks! :)**

 **throughthelookingglass27: Cue epic theme music! :D Thanks! I thought Rusty was a fitting name. XD**

 **Zoha Ven: Definitely! I really like overprotective Astrid, I think it's great. :D And don't worry, I LOVE getting reviews, so you're never annoying, no! Actually, I quite enjoy getting reviews, even if they are repetitive. Frankly, any review is a good review, and they keep me writing! :D So thanks for all the reviews! :D Cheers! :D**

 **22ablanchard: We shall see! SOON! :D**

 **Toothy fury: Yeah. :D**

 **Charr2003: Yes! The plot continues to get thicker and thicker! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA! XD It's okay, I like putting fictional characters in pain for some reason, so I guess we're in the same boat! XD Thanks for the review! :D**

 **hiccupandtoothless294: Haha! :D**

 **Shizuku Tsukishima749: Thank you so much! :D Yeah, I had TONS of fun writing that build-up, it was almost crazy! :D I definitely enjoyed writing this chapter as well, so I hope you enjoy this one as much as the last! :D Thanks for the review! :D**

 **Star-The-Writer: Knowing her, I'm sure she will. :)**

 **Galaxy-Mitsuko-Pegasus: Yep! Very interesting! I promise you that! :D**

 **LunarCatNinja: My thoughts exactly. The guy goes through way too much. :)**

 **1 Fan: Thanks a bunch! :D**

 **SharKohen: Thanks! :D :D**

 **HufflePufforlife: Okay, okay, I'm updating! XD Thanks for the review! :D**

* * *

Fishlegs tied off the bandage around the puncture wound on Hiccup's arm and stepped back, checking his work with satisfaction. They were in the Clubhouse, and Hiccup sat on the edge of their round table while Fishlegs stood in front of him and Astrid, Snotlout, and the twins gathered in a semi-circle nearby.

"Well, the stinger didn't go in too deep," said Fishlegs, "so there was minimal bleeding, no risk of infection...I'd estimate a week before it seals itself up."

"Um, that's great, Fishlegs," said Astrid, stepping up, "but what about his eyes?"

"Oh...right," said Fishlegs, and he looked at Hiccup, no longer reassured. Toothless had his head in Hiccup's lap, and Hiccup was scratching the dragon, looking blankly at Fishlegs. He was looking at Fishlegs, yes, but anyone could tell he wasn't actually _seeing_ Fishlegs.

"Okay," said Fishlegs, and he stepped forward again, this time taking Hiccup's face in his hands and looking into his eyes. "They're kind of foggy…" said Fishlegs, nervously, and he frowned. "Hiccup, can you describe what you see?"

"Um...nothing," said Hiccup.

"Nothing," said Fishlegs, stepping back again.

"Yep," said Hiccup. "Nothing. It's just...you know, black."

"Let's see if you can see something bright," said Fishlegs, and he gestured to Toothless. Toothless pulled away from Hiccup momentarily, sucked in a deep breath, and fired a single plasma blast into the nearby fire pit; with an explosion of purple light, the flame began to roar.

"I heard that," said Hiccup, "but I didn't see anything."

Fishlegs swallowed hard. "So, how did you feel after the dragon stung you?" he asked, taking a notebook of Bork's notes from a shelf and flipping through the yellowed pages.

"I just felt really dizzy," said Hiccup, "lightheaded. My vision went all blurry, but I thought it was just because of our rough landing. But then, it didn't get better. It just got worse until it went black."

"And did it go black all of a sudden, or gradually?" said Fishlegs, not looking up from the notebook.

"Kind of gradually," said Hiccup, as Toothless nudged him in the ribs and Hiccup scratched the dragon's head. "It started slowly, like little raindrops of black, but then it turned into splotches, and then it was...nothing."

Fishlegs grimaced, swallowed hard, and kept flipping through the pages, all the faster this time. His hands were shaking so badly he nearly ripped the pages. Hiccup and the others watched him, concerned.

"Ermmm...Fishlegs?" Hiccup finally said, and Fishlegs jumped, but pretended he didn't hear him. "What's wrong?"

Fishlegs swallowed nervously, came to the page he had been searching for, and put his thumb on it. "I think I know what kind of dragon it was," said Fishlegs nervously, and he tossed the notebook onto the table for all the riders to see. Snotlout, the twins, and Astrid gathered round while Fishlegs hung back.

"It says the dragon is called the Golden Flash," said Astrid, reading, "and it gets its name through its amber eyes. Its scales change colors as the seasons pass to help it blend in with its environment - in spring, it's a light brown, in summer, a sandy yellow, in autumn, a bright red, and in winter, a whiteish-blue."

"Okay," said Hiccup, "but what does it say about its stinger?"

Astrid's eyes scanned the paper. "The venom of the Golden Flash is never fatal," said Astrid, "but when injected, the venom blinds its victims completely within five minutes…"

She paused.

"Oh," said Hiccup flatly, turning away. "So I'm blind."

"Um, I have a question," said Tuffnut, raising his hand. "What does 'blind' mean? Because it doesn't sound good."

"It _means_ ," said Ruffnut, elbowing her brother in the ribs, "that Hiccup can't see anything at all."

"Oh," said Tuffnut. "Yeah...that's not good…"

"Does it ever wear off?" Hiccup questioned.

Astrid shook her head. "No," she said, "it doesn't. There is a cure...a kind of herb called the Denum Nightmare, but that's the only thing potent enough to reverse the venom…"

"So, what happens if we _don't_ find this Denum Nightmare?" Hiccup asked. "What does that mean for me?"

"I think," said Fishlegs nervously, stepping forward again, "it means, you'll be blind forever, Hiccup."

Hiccup swallowed.

So did the other riders.

…

In the middle of the ocean, cutting against the tumultuous waves, Dagur the Deranged and his armada of Berserkers sailed towards Dragon's Edge. The weather was as bad as it could get, but the waves kept pushing the ship in the direction Dagur wanted to go, and for that, the sail would be so much shorter.

"Sire!" shouted Savage, and he charged over; the men behind him were working to keep the sail open on Dagur's command. It was against their better judgement, as they knew that in a storm such as this, one should _close_ the sails to keep them from tearing, but Dagur, though he knew this, dismissed it.

Dagur groaned, turning towards Savage, a psychotic gleam in his eyes that would have had anyone backing away. "Oh, what is it, Savage?" moaned Dagur. "I have to say, I would think you of all people would know what happens when I'm interrupted…"

"Sire, the ship is tearing to pieces!" shouted Savage, waving his hands over his head. "We have to withdraw, regroup, and maintain course when the storm blows over!"

Dagur wanted to deny this, but the more he looked at it, the more he realized that yes, Savage _did_ have a point, and Dagur hated him for it. "Fine!" spat Dagur. "Take us behind the nearest sea stack and moor us to it! As soon as the storm lifts, we'll head to Dragon's Edge!"

He grinned maniacally.

"See you soon, _brother_."

…

"Are you sure the Denum Nightmare is the only thing to cure the venom of the Golden Flash, Fishlegs?" Hiccup asked, still seated on the edge of the table while Fishlegs, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, and Fishlegs packed their things.

"I'm positive," said Fishlegs, stuffing a notebook into his satchel, along with a spyglass and a small jar. "We'll go to Berk, find out what Gothi has to say about the Denum Nightmare, and follow her instructions."

"I still don't understand why _we_ have to go with Fishface," grumbled Snotlout angrily as he flung Hookfang's saddlebag shut and crossed his arms. "You don't need _four_ people to go find a tiny little Denum Nightmare, do you?"

"Actually, Snotlout, we might," said Fishlegs. "From what I've read in Bork's papers, the Denum Nightmares are the favored food of dozens of lethal species of dragons."

This made Snotlout more upset. "THEN WHY ARE WE GOING," he said, "IF WE COULD ALL _DIE!?"_

"Fishlegs, I told you, you don't have to go," said Hiccup, getting to his feet, putting out his hands, though he couldn't see where his friends were. "Me and Toothless can go just fine-"

"No, you're not going, Hiccup," said Fishlegs. Hiccup couldn't remember the last time he had seen - no, _heard_ \- Fishlegs this determined. "You can't find what you can't see."

"So, hang on," said Tuffnut, pausing from where he was stuffing Macey into his satchel. "Are we going to find a bunch of dangerous dragons along the way? You know, like, dragons that could literally kill us without a second thought?"

Fishlegs sighed. "Yes, Tuffnut, we are," he said.

"Oh, cool!" said Tuffnut, grinning. "So what are we waiting for?" He tossed Macey, along with a few other things, into his satchel and turned, already mounting Belch. Beside him, Ruffnut mounted Barf, weapons and necessities stuffed into Barf's saddlebag.

"Guys, I just don't know," Hiccup said, rubbing his arm, which was still bandaged. "I don't like the thought of you doing something like this-"

"We've done tons of stupid reckless stuff in the past, Hiccup," said Snotlout, leaping onto Hookfang's back. "We'll be fine. Watch! We'll come back with that stupid Denum Nightmare, and you'll have your sight back!"

Hiccup crossed his arms, but he couldn't exactly argue. "Fine," he said. "Just...be careful."

"And hurry up and get back," said Astrid, stepping up beside Hiccup. "The book mentioned something about it being permanent after a certain amount of weeks."

"We'll hurry," said Fishlegs. "And be careful, you two. Make sure the Golden Flash doesn't break out of its cage."

"We will," said Astrid.

"Be careful," said Hiccup.

"We will be," said Fishlegs, and he mounted Meatlug. "Come on, girl, let's go to Berk." Meatlug growled her agreement, spread her wings, and left the Clubhouse. With Meatlug followed Hookfang and Snotlout, and Ruffnut and Tuffnut with Barf and Belch, leaving Stormfly, Toothless, Astrid, and Hiccup behind.

…

Fishlegs, Snotlout, and the twins arrived on Berk the next day in late afternoon, and once the dragons had landed, their riders dismounted. A few passing Berkians stopped to wave at them, and the dragon riders waved back.

"Alright," said Fishlegs to Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Snotlout, once the villagers were out of earshot, "let's go to Gothi's, before anyone asks why we're here."

"Ah, Fishlegs! Ruffnut! Tuffnut! Snotlout!" said a voice from the left, and Fishlegs instantly cringed. Of course. Gobber hobbled up to them, looking up at the sky, no doubt expecting Hiccup and Astrid to land with the other riders, but when he didn't see sign of Stormfly or Toothless, he turned his attention back to the dragon riders who _had_ arrived.

"So," said Gobber, running a thumb along his hook of a hand, "tell me. What brings you four to Berk? And why aren't Hiccup and Astrid with you?"

Fishlegs paused. "Um," he said, raising a finger, " _that_...that's a long story." He hoped it would be enough to run Gobber off, but Gobber didn't have any intention of leaving any time soon.

"I've got time," said Gobber, shrugging.

"Oh, no, we wouldn't want to keep you from your work," said Snotlout, shaking his head. Snotlout, apparently, wasn't in the mood to explain just why they were here, either. None of them knew how Gobber would take to hearing his former apprentice was blind.

"Ah, come on," said Gobber. "It's not like I have a lot of work to do around here. I have a few axes to sharpen and a Nadder tooth to pull, but that's not until later."

Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Snotlout looked at each other. Well, it wasn't like they had the choice.

They opened their mouths to speak, but before they had the chance to, someone else showed up, and this someone else's appearance was even worse than Gobber's.

"Ah, Fishlegs!" said Stoick, making his way towards them. "I thought I saw you lot fly in. Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout…" He nodded to each of the dragon riders in greeting.

"Uh, hey-ya, Chief," said Tuffnut, saluting, somewhat embarrassedly. "Fancy seeing you here...um, well, I guess it isn't, considering you're the _Chief_ …"

"Aye," said Stoick. "The real thing is, fancy seeing _you_ here." He paused. "What brings you to Berk?" he asked, and then, after realizing who was absent, "Where's Hiccup?"

Fishlegs swallowed. He and the riders exchanged nervous glances.

Great. Just great.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi guys! :D Thank you sooooooo much for all your continued support! I love you all a bunch! :D I'm going to have to do shout-outs next chapter, unfortunately, because of technical difficulties, but don't worry, I'll do them for you all next time! :D Thanks for your support! Enjoy chapter 5! :D**

* * *

Hiccup sat up the next morning in his bed, for a moment wondering why his vision was black - but then he remembered. Right. He was blind. Toothless nuzzled him in the chest, and Hiccup jumped, not expecting the sudden contact.

"Oh, good morning, Toothless," said Hiccup, scratching Toothless behind the ears. "You doing okay, bud?"

Toothless growled and licked his face.

"Yeah, I'm kinda bummed, too," said Hiccup. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood. Toothless warbled nervously. "No, I'm okay, bud," Hiccup said. "I can make it downstairs." He took a step forward blindly, and then realized that yes, maybe he _did_ have a problem.

"Okay, Toothless," Hiccup said, "I need you to be my eyes, alright?" Toothless growled in agreement. "Okay...am I near the-"

He took a step forward and would have tumbled down the stairs if Toothless hadn't surged forward at the last second and caught him by the back of his shirt.

"-Stairs," Hiccup finished lamely, as Toothless pulled him back onto solid ground. "Okay...one step at a time…"

Now that he knew where the stairs were, he was able to walk down them, albeit slowly. The last step caught him off-guard a bit, and he lost his balance momentarily, but righted himself before he hit the ground.

"Okay, Toothless," Hiccup said, and Toothless bounded around him. Hiccup looked aimlessly in all directions, and when he had a hard time deciding where Toothless was, Toothless licked him, dissolving all doubt.

"Let's go to the Clubhouse, bud," Hiccup offered, and he pressed his hands against Toothless' side, and mounted him with little difficulty - he had ridden Toothless for so long that even without seeing, mounting the dragon came naturally. Toothless spread his wings, fired a small plasma blast at the lever to open the door, and took to the sky a moment later.

When Toothless landed, Hiccup dismounted; they were at the Clubhouse, Hiccup knew, though he couldn't see. He grabbed a hold of Toothless' saddlehorn, and Toothless led the way into the Clubhouse.

Astrid looked up from where she was mapping out the lookout points of their base when Hiccup and Toothless entered. "Hey, Hiccup," said Astrid, setting the paper and charcoal down to approach him. "Can you see anything, or…?"

"Still blind," said Hiccup, waving a hand in front of his face experimentally. "Have you gotten any word from the others?"

Astrid shook her head. "No," she said, "not yet, but they should get to Berk pretty soon, if they haven't already gotten there…"

Hiccup nodded. "Right," he said. "So, what-" He had taken a step forward, but nearly tripped over a poorly placed bucket. "Come _on_ ," he muttered angrily, when he had regained his balance. "Wherever they are, I hope they get back here soon. I really don't want to be blind forever."

Astrid nodded. "Me neither," she said.

Before she had the chance to say anything else, Toothless suddenly lifted his head, growling lowly, teeth unsheathed. Across the room, Stormfly also barred her teeth, hissing at the door.

"Stormfly?" said Astrid. "Whoa...what's wrong, girl?" She attempted to put out her hands towards the dragon, but in response, Stormfly only growled, jerking her head towards the door.

"What's going on?" said Hiccup. "Astrid?"

Astrid didn't answer. She turned and raced towards the hatch, grabbing Hiccup's wrist in her wake and dragging him after her, much to his protest. "Astrid! What's wrong!?"

"The dragons are acting weird," said Astrid, and with her free hand, she pulled open the hatch and headed outside, Toothless and Stormfly chasing after their riders.

"Oh, and how would I know that?" said Hiccup, somewhat helplessly as Astrid dragged him on. _"I can't see anything, Astrid, remember!?"_

Astrid suddenly stopped once she made it outside, and she released Hiccup's wrist. Toothless and Stormfly stepped up behind their two riders, still growling dangerously.

Astrid narrowed her eyes.

"Berserkers," she said.

"What!?" blurted Hiccup. " _Berserkers!?_ How many of them? Where are they?" He looked around lamely. "How close are they to the shores?"

Astrid looked out at the ships.

"There has to be at least fifteen ships," she said, swallowing. "And at the rate the wind is blowing...I'd say they'll make it here by nightfall."

Dagur's ships were approaching them steadily, making a beeline straight towards them, his warships loaded with catapults, bola shooters, armed Berserker soldiers, and dozens and dozens of weapons to spare.

"This is...not good," said Hiccup. "Not good...at all."

Astrid nodded in agreement. "Come on, let's get to the armory," she said, wrapping her fingers around his wrist again and yanking him in the right direction - this time, he didn't protest, and Toothless and Stormfly chased after them. "We'll set up the defensive walls and have the Night Terrors get in formation."

Hiccup glanced towards the direction of the ocean, just by chance looking the right way. "Alright," he said, "let's do it."

…

"Oooh, there it is!" cheered Dagur, pointing wildly and excitedly at the Edge. "Men! Bring down the oars! If we don't reach their little _dragon rider_ base by sun down, I'll have you all personally burned at the stake!"

If this didn't motivate the crew, nothing would, and they pulled giant oars from below decks, set them up, and began rowing with all their might, towards Dragon's Edge.

Dagur grinned. "Make sure the archers are at the ready!" he called to his crew. "We'll bring down Hiccup and his pathetic dragon riders once and for all!"

…

The Berkian village was peaceful. Villagers bustled back and forth, carrying about their usual daily tasks, greeting friends and family along the way. Terrible Terrors chirped happily from the rooftops, and the larger dragons soared overhead.

Everything was peaceful.

Until...

"MY SON IS _WHAT!?"_

The shout had come from the direction of the Great Hall, and it was the loudest shout any of them had ever heard. They jumped, stiffening, and the Terrible Terrors shrieked and shot into the sky.

Meanwhile, in the Great Hall, poor Fishlegs had told Stoick and Gobber what had happened, and now, Fishlegs cowered underneath the table, hands over his head, trying to block out Stoick's shouting.

"C'mon, Chief...at least let the kid finish explaining before you scare the living daylights out of him," said Gobber.

...

"...And that's why we came back to Berk," said Fishlegs, "to see what Gothi had to say about the venom of the Golden Flash, and if she knew where the Denum Nightmare could be found."

"The Golden Flash, you say?" said Gobber, scratching his chin; he was seated in a bench across from Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Snotlout at the Great Hall, and beside Gobber on the bench sat Stoick.

"Have you heard of the dragon before, Gobber?" asked Stoick, turning to the blacksmith; once Stoick had gotten over the initial shock of Hiccup being temporarily blind, he had become somewhat obsessed with finding the cure.

"I've not only _heard_ of it," said Gobber. "I've _seen_ it, back in the days of dragon killing. They live on the islands, just outside the Berkian archipelago. A few Berkians and I ran into the beasts while on a hunting spree."

"And...what?" said Tuffnut, spreading his hands dramatically. "What then?"

"Well, let's just say, they don't take kindly to visitors," said Gobber.

"Yeah, we get that," said Fishlegs. "It attacked us without a real reason back on Dragon's Edge."

"We didn't even see it coming," said Snotlout. "Just...all of a sudden... _boom_."

"That's how the Golden Flashes tend to strike," said Gobber. "Some people may think the Golden Flash got its name from its eyes, but in reality, I think it's more of the dragon's _speed_. It isn't very good at quick turns, but when it comes to beelines, it's like a Speed Stinger with a mission."

"That's just what happened," said Ruffnut. "It outflew Toothless and stung Hiccup before any of us could blink."

"But where do we find the Denum Nightmares, Gobber?" asked Fishlegs. "Do you have _any_ idea where we can find them?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," said Gobber, nodding. "The Denum Nightmares are deadly poisonous to the Golden Flashes, just like the Blue Oleanders are deadly poisonous to most dragons. Now, knowing this, where do _you_ think you'd be most likely to find Denum Nightmares?"

"As far away from the dwellings of the Golden Flashes as possible," said Fishlegs, nodding. "I see…"

"Could you be a bit more specific, Gobber?" said Stoick, and he sounded impatient.

"Right," said Gobber, nodding, "of course. Healer's island. The place is chuck full of Denum Nightmares. They normally look somewhat like weeds with blue flowers, and they wither if they're out in sunlight for more than a few hours."

"That would explain why we haven't seen them before," said Fishlegs. "They probably only grow in marshes or tunnels beneath Healer's island."

"Tunnels?" said Ruffnut. "What tunnels?"

"Whispering Death tunnels," said Snotlout plainly. "We saw some last time we circled Healer's island."

"So, all we have to do," said Fishlegs, "is go to Healer's island, find these Denum Nightmares, and...what?"

"Grind them," said Gobber, "before they're exposed to sunlight. When you get back to your dragon base, have Hiccup drink it."

"Oh, wow," said Ruffnut, sticking out her tongue, "drinking some weird flowers."

"But Hiccup's blind, ain't he?" said Gobber.

"Yes, right now, he is," said Fishlegs.

"In which case," said Gobber, "don't tell him what the cure's made of until _after_ he takes it, alright?"

"Oooooh, I see," said Tuffnut, nodding. "Trickery! Loki'ing! This is what we're good at!"

"Loki'ing a blind, one-legged kid," said Snotlout, shaking his head. "Sometimes I wonder if you guys have a conscience at all."

Stoick gave the twins a dark glare, and Ruffnut and Tuffnut silenced themselves after that.

"It'll be easier swallowing if he doesn't know what it's made of," said Gobber, "believe me. Now, you lot had better get a move on, before the blindness becomes permanent."

"Right," said Fishlegs, and he rose to his feet, his friends doing the same around him. "Come on, guys, let's go…"


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi! :D Thanks for all the reviews last chapter! :D Two more chapters after this! :D Okay, as promised, shout-outs! :D**

 **ShadowSpirt020: Thanks! :D Yeah, I think I had too much fun with the tripping and Stoick's reaction. XD Thanks! :D**

 **Dimensional Girl: Hahahaha, thanks! :D Well, it's good to know I'm keeping everyone in character! :D Sometimes it's kinda hard to tell as the writer, but thanks a bunch! :D I have so much fun writing these stories! :D Thanks for the review! :D**

 **Crystallion12: Yeah, I agree. It is kinda hard to imagine. :) I guess since I already did a blind!Hiccup fanfiction, I'm kind of used to writing it, so I kind of get off easy there. XD**

 **UpbeatGracie: Hahaha, yeah! XD**

 **22ablanchard: Let's hope not! :)**

 **AquaticDragon: Urgh! And of course Dagur shows up! XD Thanks for the review! :D**

 **DG-Agent37-Lover: Hey! :D No worries! Life is crazy! I'm always saying, don't worry about reviewing. If you don't get around to it, it's fine. I won't guilt trip you. XD Haha, it's okay, Hiccup falling down the stairs was supposed to be a bit humorous, anyways, so there's nothing wrong with thinking it was funny. XD Yep! The Berserkers are on their way, and there isn't anything anyone can do about it, so we'll just have to see how this plays out! Should be interesting. XD I feel so sorry for Stoick and Hiccup most the time. But at the same time, I like torturing them, too, sooooo...yeah. XD Thanks for the review! :D I know, RttE deserves AT LEAST ten seasons. XD**

 **Galaxy-Mitsuko-Pegasus: Whoop whoop! Go team! :D**

 **Jesusfreak: Thanks! :D I'm looking forward to writing it! :D**

 **TheChosenOne260: Aw, wow, thank you so much! :D That's quite the encouragement, my friend! :D Welcome to the HTTYD fandom, by the way! :D I have loads of fun with these characters! I'm so glad you're enjoying my stories! :D Thanks a bunch! :D**

 **boyscouts83712: Thanks! :D Here's the update! :D**

 **Zoha Ven: Hahahaha, whoops. XD Yeah, it should be pretty interesting! It sounds a whole lot worse when you put it that way, but yeah, that basically sums up their entire situation pretty well. XD Yeah, it should be exciting! :D Thanks for the review! :D**

 **1 Fan: Haha, thanks! I love you guys, too! :D**

 **Jo: Haha, yep! Here come the Berserkers! :D**

 **Shizuku Tsukishima749: Yep! Gobber saves the day again! XD Thanks so much! I'm really glad you like it! :D Sometimes it's hard to keep everyone in character, so it's nice to know I'm doing a good job! :D Thanks! :D**

 **Silvercrystal77: Thanks a bunch! I'm really happy you like it! :D I think the friendship between Hiccup and Toothless is always just so amazing, so yeah, seeing-eye-dragon! Toothless would definitely do something like that for Hiccup! :D And like you said, Hiccup relying on Toothless...I love writing it! :D I'm having a ton of fun making Hiccup blind, actually, it's almost funny. :) Thanks for the review, and the encouragement! :D**

 **LunarCatNinja: You're definitely right there. :D**

 **KTapering: We shall see! :D**

* * *

Astrid dragged Hiccup into the armory, and as soon as they stepped inside, Astrid released Hiccup's wrist and surged forward, yanking daggers, knives, and maces with chains into her arms.

"All right, Dragon Boy," she said, turning towards Hiccup, pressing a dagger into his hand. "We're going to keep these handy just in case the Berserkers make it past our defensive barricade." She threw the weapons down on a nearby desk and headed for the large chest at the back of the room, where they kept their swords, axes, and crossbows stored.

Hiccup looked down at his hand, frowning. "You know using this is going to be pretty hard, right?" he said.

"Well, hopefully, it will never get down to close combat," said Astrid. "Because if it does…"

"There's fifty of them and two of us," said Hiccup, nodding, "aaaand…" He slashed his hand across his throat, which basically said it all.

"Right," said Astrid, "which is why, I have a few ideas...we can put crossbows on the walls and set trip-wires to trigger them...they should be right over here…" She threw open the chest, looked down into it, and her shoulders slumped. Her eyes widened.

There were no weapons in the chest. The only thing to be seen was a small piece of folded paper, which Astrid picked up, unfolded, and read.

There was only one word on the paper, written in large, blocky letters.

 _LOKI'D!_

Astrid crumpled the letter in her fist and shouted, _"RUFFNUT AND TUFFNUT!"_ as though they could hear her.

"What?" said Hiccup, hurrying over, nearly bumping into her, because he couldn't see where she was. "What did Ruffnut and Tuffnut do _this_ time?"

Astrid was so enraged she could barely speak. "Those idiots hid the weapons!" she shouted.

…

Hundreds of miles away, Ruffnut and Tuffnut sat atop their Zippleback, giggling. Fishlegs and Snotlout looked at them, and they shut up, but the instant Snotlout and Fishlegs looked away again, they commenced giggling once more.

Finally, after four times, Snotlout snapped. "What!?" he demanded. "What's so funny!?"

"N-Nothing," giggled Tuffnut. "Nothing at all…"

"But you _do_ have to wonder," said Ruffnut, "if anyone back on the Edge triggered those awesome boobytraps we set in the forest with the weapons."

"The _what!?"_ said Snotlout. " _You did WHAT!?"_

"Ruffnut! Tuffnut!" shouted Fishlegs angrily. "I told you to put the weapons back in the armory!"

"I know!" said Tuffnut. "And we were going to, but then we had all these awesome ideas and ignored you!"

"What if Hiccup and Astrid _need_ those weapons?" said Fishlegs. "What if they're under siege!?"

"Well, _duh,_ Fishlegs!" said Ruffnut, rolling her eyes. "They have _dragons!"_

"That's not the point, Ruffnut!" said Fishlegs. "You shouldn't have done that!"

"At least we'll all have a good laugh about it later," said Tuffnut, leaning back with his hands behind his head. This didn't seem to bother him much.

"When Astrid and Hiccup figure out what you did," said Snotlout warningly, wriggling his finger at the twins, "they are _not_ going to be happy."

"Come on!" said Ruffnut. "Hiccup and Astrid need to learn to take a joke!"

" _Hiding weapons,_ IS NOT A JOKE!" shouted Snotlout.

"As does someone _else_ I know," said Ruffnut, looking at Snotlout, shaking her head shamefully.

"Come on!" said Fishlegs. "Healer's island is just up ahead! When I tell Hiccup and Astrid about the weapons, oh, you two are going to be in _so much trouble…"_

Ruffnut and Tuffnut shrugged. "Eh," they said.

…

It was nightfall. Dagur and his team of Berserkers stepped onto the sandy shores of Dragon's Edge, looking around skeptically.

"Huh," said Dagur, "interesting. No welcoming committee. You would think the dragon riders would have seen our ships from the ocean, don't you?"

The soldiers behind him nodded, too scared of their Chief to disagree.

Dagur shrugged. "Oh well," said Dagur casually, walking forward. "If Hiccup won't bring the welcoming committee to us, then we'll just have to bring the welcoming committee to Hiccup."

The Berserkers behind him found their courage and grinned, chuckling darkly. _That_ sounded fun.

Dagur stepped forward.

But the instant he did, he tripped over a wire stretched between two trees, and it triggered a crossbow, hidden in a nearby tree. Dagur rolled out of the way just in time; the arrow of the crossbow embedded in the grassy ground where he had been moments before.

One of Ruffnut and Tuffnut's Loki traps, though Dagur and his fellow Berserkers did not know this.

"Huh," said Dagur, sitting up and yanking the arrow from the ground, examining the arrowhead carefully. "Interesting welcoming committee." He got to his feet and, with his men hot on his heels, proceeded with caution.

…

Hiccup and Astrid crouched behind one of their defensive walls, Toothless and Stormfly behind their riders. Astrid peaked over the side of the wall, bringing her spyglass up to her eye and looking towards the ocean.

"They reached the shoreline," said Astrid to Hiccup, lowering her spyglass once again. "They're making their way through the forest, approaching from the east."

Hiccup nodded. "Gotcha," he said. "So, milady, have any brilliant battle plans?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," said Astrid. "When Tuffnut and I were attacked on the Edge and the rest of you were away, we tricked the hunters into thinking there were more of us here than there actually were."

"Oh, I see," said Hiccup, nodding. "Strength in numbers."

"Exactly," said Astrid. "If we can make Dagur and the Berserkers think all of us are here-"

"-We'll buy valuable time," said Hiccup.

"Yes," said Astrid. "The only problem is…" She paused, looking at Hiccup. "You're blind," she said.

"Yes, I am," said Hiccup, "which shouldn't really complicate things. I'll take Toothless over the forests with some bottles of Zippleback gas and Monstrous Nightmare gel. That should throw the Berserkers off."

"Are you sure, Hiccup?" said Astrid uncertainly. "I mean...I don't want you to get hurt, and if they have crossbows...you can't exactly avoid what you can't see…"

"I know that, Astrid," said Hiccup, "and I won't have to. I'll have Toothless, and quite frankly, I could fly Toothless with my eyes closed, which is great, otherwise this would probably never work."

He got to his feet and held out his hand; Toothless pressed his forehead against Hiccup's palm, and once Hiccup knew where Toothless was, mounting the Night Fury was easy.

"Here, Hiccup," said Astrid, standing, handing Hiccup a crossbow. "It's a crossbow," she added, calling to mind he couldn't actually see it. She took his hand and wrapped it around the crossbow's leather handle. "I found it in Snotlout's hut. Keep it with you...just in case."

Hiccup grinned and tightened his fingers around the handle, taking it from her. "Trust the blind boy with a crossbow," he said. "I see how it is. Oh, wait...oh, that's right! I can't!"

"Hiccup," said Astrid, "if you come up with _one more sarcastic joke, for the love of Thor, I will-"_

"Come on, Toothless," said Hiccup, before Astrid could finish her threat, "let's go! I'll give you the signal to come in, Astrid!" Toothless spread his wings and shot into the sky, camouflaging against the black night sky.

"Wait!" Astrid shouted. "WHAT SIGNAL!?"

"I'll make it obvious!" Hiccup shouted, and then, Toothless sped out of sight and earshot.

Astrid swallowed thickly. "Be careful," she whispered, though Hiccup was long gone and couldn't hear her.

…

"Okay!" said Hiccup, as Toothless circled around the Edge. "Zippleback gas! Right! Toothless, there's a satchel of Zippleback gas and Monstrous Nightmare gel hanging outside a pole at Fishlegs' hut. Take us there first."

Toothless nodded, and as he turned left, Hiccup switched gears on his tailfin, and the duo shot in the right direction. When Toothless caught sight of the satchel, he, without slowing down, grasped it in his teeth and pulled it off its pole.

"Did you get it?" Hiccup asked, and Toothless growled his agreement, turning his head. Hiccup reached forward blindly, snatched up the satchel, and opened it, feeling inside to make sure it was the right one. "Well, thank you Fishlegs," said Hiccup, pulling a bottle of Zippleback gas from the satchel, "for you emergency defense plans. Come on, Toothless, to the forest!"

Toothless nodded in agreement and soared over the Edge, towards their destination.

…

Dagur and his men strode carefully through the forest, keeping their heads down. They had triggered many of the twins' Loki traps so far, some resulting in unconscious Berserkers and others resulted in dislocated shoulders. Needless to say, Dagur thought these were defensive traps, not tricks.

"Hiccup always plays the same game," said Dagur to the remainder of his Berserkers as they crept through the forest. "The traps in the forest...just you wait. He'll make his dramatic entrance soon enough."

As if on cue, Hiccup and Toothless soared over their heads, and as they did, Toothless fired three plasma blasts down at the Berserkers in a rapid session. The Berserkers shouted in shock and ran, ducking behind trees. Two Berserkers triggered more crossbow traps, and this resulted in over ten Berserkers diving for safe cover.

Hiccup looked down, following the sounds of the shouts. "I think it worked," he said, and then, he tossed two bottles of Zippleback gas towards the ground. "Toothless, plasma blast!"

Toothless fired another plasma blast, straight at the bottles of Zippleback gas, and the bottles exploded into a ginormous mushroom cloud, smoking up the forest effortlessly. Toothless swerved to avoid the rush of smoke and took to the sky, into clear air while the Berserkers were left in the smoke.

…

Astrid watched all this through her spyglass, and she lowered it from her eye, frowning. "Okay, Stormfly," she said, "that has _got_ to be the signal. Time to make our move." She leapt onto the Nadder's back, and Stormfly took to the sky, soaring towards the forest after Hiccup and Toothless.

…

Dagur and the Berserkers coughed against the thick smoke that surrounded the area, waving their hands and axes around in attempts to clear it. "T-Trek on, men!" Dagur demanded, waving a hand in the direction he wanted them to go. "Go! _GO!"_

Hiccup uncorked a jar of Monstrous Nightmare gel, and just as he turned it over and dumped its contents out, Stormfly arrived on Astrid. Stormfly ignited the Monstrous Nightmare gel as it was still falling, and the gel burst into flames, just before it hit the forest below.

"Good girl, Stormfly!" said Astrid.

"Great timing, Astrid!" said Hiccup, grinning. "If I could see you, I would thank you properly!"

"Let's take care of the Berserkers first, Hiccup!" said Astrid. "There will be plenty of time for thanks later!" She sped down on Stormfly, towards the smoke. "Stormfly, spine shot!" Astrid demanded, and Stormfly flicked her tail. Spines pierced the smoke and embedded themselves in the ground below; one spine shot came exceptionally close to Dagur's foot, and Dagur looked down at it.

"Nice try, Astrid!" taunted Dagur, raising his fist, though he couldn't see where Astrid was through the thick smoke. "You and your puny Nadder can't see us through the smoke!"

More spines answered Dagur's insult, and he leapt backwards with a yelp, barely avoiding being skewered by a spine.

"I think we've confused them at least, Hiccup," said Astrid, once she came to clear skies again, flanking Hiccup and Toothless, "but they're still heading for the Edge, and there were more men on those ships than I originally thought!"

"How many of them did you originally think there were, Astrid?" Hiccup shouted over to her.

"Um...fifty!" Astrid called back.

"Uh-huh, okay...and how many are there _really?"_

Astrid swallowed. "Maybe a hundred," she said. "two hundred…"

"Oh, that's good," said Hiccup, throwing his hands into the air above his head. "You know, personally, I would've been _fine_ with fifty!"

Arrows shot up at them from the smoke, and Stormfly dodged, as did Toothless.

"Come on," said Astrid, "let's get back to the Edge and rethink our plans."

"Let's," Hiccup agreed, and they headed off, back to their base.


	7. Chapter 7

**You guys are so amazing! :D Thank you all so much for your continued support! :D I can't do shout-outs this chapter around because of some technical difficulties (darn it fanfiction XD), so I'll do them next chapter! :D**

 **THIS IS THE SECOND TO LAST CHAPTER, GUYS! :D :D :D I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY IT! :D**

* * *

Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut landed their dragons on the sandy beach of Healer's island, and once the riders dismounted, they looked around, searching for any sign of nearby dragons.

"I think the coast is clear," said Fishlegs, motioning with the others to follow him, and he began forward, into the forest.

Snotlout followed, arms crossed angrily over his chest, while the twins were a bit more enthusiastic. "So, do you think there are any snakes in the forest?" asked Tuffnut to Ruffnut.

"I'm not sure, brother," said Ruffnut lowly, "but if there are, I volunteer you to discover which of them are poisonous, and which of them are deadly."

"Ah, yes," said Tuffnut, nodding seriously. "That does sound like a worthy plan, dear sister. And if we execute it, I will volunteer you to discover which of them are poisonous, and which of them are deadly."

"Um, nu-uh," said Ruffnut. "I volunteered you first."

"But I was the first to volunteer you _second_ ," said Tuffnut.

"UGH!" snapped Snotlout, pushing past the twins to walk alongside Fishlegs, arms still crossed. "Why did we have to bring those two with us again? You know, this would be a great opportunity to, you know, _Loki_ them…"

"I'm not Loki'ing the twins your way again, Snotlout," said Fishlegs. "If ever I Loki anyone, I'm going to do it my way, and I'm going to do it harmlessly."

Snotlout rolled his eyes. "Let me know if you ever change your mind," he said. "These forests would be the perfect place for a Loki ambush, you know."

"Snotlout, we're not here for the Loki'ing," said Fishlegs angrily. "We're here to find the Denum Nightmares."

"I know _that_ ," said Snotlout furiously, "but that doesn't mean we can't make a few Loki stops along the way, right?"

"No, Snotlout," said Fishlegs. "Our goal is to get the Denum Nightmares and leave here as soon as possible, before any of the dragon inhabitants figure out we're here."

Snotlout groaned heavily. "Fine," he said, "but you're going to regret this decision, Fishlegs. Missing your chance to Loki the king and queen of Loki'ing...you _will_ regret this decision."

Fishlegs rolled his eyes and ignored him. "Okay," he said, "so, we're looking for weed-like plants in caves or tunnels with small blue flowers. Have your dragons search them out."

Snotlout grumbled angrily under his breath, but didn't argue. Instead, he headed off with Hookfang in the direction of the caves, and the rest of the riders followed in his wake.

"I _told_ you, this is _stupid_ ," said Snotlout. "We're never going to find a-" He was cut off by falling straight into a deep hole in the ground. Fishlegs and the twins raced over, looking down.

"Snotlout!" called Fishlegs.

"Ooooh!" said Tuffnut. "You are _dead,_ Snotlout!"

"Shut up!" snapped Snotlout, getting to his feet and brushing himself off. "Thanks for the save, Hookfang!" he called up to his Monstrous Nightmare sarcastically, and Hookfang, in response, tossed his head and sauntered in the opposite direction.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut jumped down into the hole, and after them followed Fishlegs. Ruffnut and Tuffnut looked around, awed.

"Whoa," said Ruffnut and Tuffnut in unison.

"Well," said Fishlegs, "I think we found what we're looking for."

Branching in all different directions of the hole were large tunnels.

And growing on the earthen floor of the tunnels were weed-like plants with deep blue flowers.

"Jackpot," said Snotlout, grinning. "And _I_ found it."

He made to grab the flowers, but the instant he did, a loud roar issued from further down the tunnel, and Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins stopped dead in their tracks.

"Yeah," said Tuffnut to Snotlout, "and you know what _else_ you found?"

From the tunnel to their left, the slithering, angry shape of a dragon stepped into view, tail curling, multiple spines sticking up in all directions.

"A Whispering Death," said Tuffnut.

Snotlout swallowed hard. The Whispering Death roared at them. "This...is not good," said Snotlout.

…

"Hiccup, arrows!" Astird shouted in warning, and Hiccup and Toothless swerved out of the way just in time; Dagur's arrows cut through the sky they had recently occupied and soared out of sight.

"Thanks, Astrid!" said Hiccup. "How's it looking back there?"

Astrid glanced over her shoulder. "The smoke's clearing!" she said. "Hiccup, we really need a new plan if we're going to make it out of this alive!"

"And I couldn't agree more," said Hiccup, "but we need to get back to base before we plan anything else! Here, take this!" He tossed the crossbow over to her, and she took it. The next time arrows shot at them from below, she fired a few crossbow arrows back down in response. Then, Toothless and Stormfly shot back towards their base, out of range of the arrows.

Toothless and Stormfly landed on the platform of the Clubhouse, and Hiccup and Astrid dismounted.

"Okay," said Hiccup, "how far am I from the edge of the platform…?"

Astrid raced towards him, grabbed his wrist, and dragged him in the right direction, towards the open door of the Clubhouse.

"You have to stop doing that!" Hiccup protested, as Toothless and Stormfly raced after their riders.

"Yeah, sorry, Hiccup," said Astrid, releasing his wrist and leaning over the table, pulling pieces of paper from her notebook and a charcoal from a nearby pencil cup. "Okay. So, we're here," she made an X on the paper, "and we're surrounded by these defensive walls." She drew a large circle around the X and frowned. "Dagur's approaching us from here…" she dotted the paper, inches away from the circle, "and we have maybe...ten minutes before he gets here."

"And when they get here," said Hiccup, "it's game over."

Astrid nodded. "Right," she said.

Hiccup paused. "Or," he said, _"if_ they get here…"

Astrid looked at him, and although he couldn't see it, her brows were furrowed. "Hiccup," she said, "you can't possibly be thinking what I think you're thinking."

"Well, it depends," said Hiccup, shrugging. "What do you think I'm thinking?"

Astrid swallowed.

"Okay, I can't see you," said Hiccup, "but I am ninety percent sure you're frowning. Which probably means you _are_ thinking what I'm thinking."

"We're not doing it, Hiccup," said Astrid.

"Why not?" said Hiccup, throwing his hands above his head. "It's two dragon riders, one of which is blind, and two dragons, one of which can't fly without the blind dragon rider, against an entire fleet of Berserkers. What do we have to lose?"

Astrid bit her lip. "As long as you're sure this will work," she said.

"I'm not sure," said Hiccup, "but we don't exactly have a choice."

…

Astrid led Hiccup by the hand into their dragon stables. The Golden Flash lifted its giant head and growled at them lowly, eyes narrowed, curled tail raised threateningly. Astrid looked at Hiccup, but Hiccup didn't look back at her.

"Hiccup, this is insane," said Astrid, shaking her head. "You can't even _see_ the dragon. How are you going to befriend something you can't see?"

"Um...smile and wave…?" said Hiccup, and then, helplessly, "I don't know, Astrid! Give me a minute to think."

He paused a moment, looking straight ahead, following the sounds of the dragon's ominous growls. Finally, he sucked in a deep breath.

"Alright," he said, and he took the first step forward, towards the dragon.

"Alright?" said Astrid, surging forward and catching Hiccup by the hand before he could take a second step. "Alright _what?"_

"I'm going to try," said Hiccup, "befriending the dragon, without actually befriending the dragon. We've done it before, Astrid, with the Vorpent Viper for one, and that Whispering Death a while back, too."

"You mean, respect?" said Astrid, releasing Hiccup's hand again. "Hiccup, this dragon _blinded_ you. He's not in the mood for _respect_."

"Who knows," said Hiccup. "Maybe when it sees the Berserkers attacking its home, it'll change its mind."

Astrid swallowed. "Hiccup, I don't know," she said.

Hiccup sighed. "Astrid, I think I figured out why the dragon attacked us in the first place," he said, "and that was because, he saw us as invaders, just like we see the Berserkers. He saw us as people trying to take over his home, maybe eventually trying to run him from it, like dragon hunters and Berserkers would do…"

Astrid looked at him, but said nothing.

"Maybe," said Hiccup, _"maybe_ , if I can show him that we're not the enemies, and that we can share the island without it worrying about being hunted or run off, we can be friends. Or at least, acquaintances."

"It's a crazy theory, Hiccup," said Astrid.

"I know," said Hiccup.

"It could end either way," said Astrid.

"I know that, too," said Hiccup.

"In which case," said Astrid, crossing her arms, "you can try your best, as long as you let us back you up and pull you out if we need to."

"Alright," said Hiccup, "I can work with that." And he stepped forward, Astrid flanking him, Toothless and Stormfly behind them.

The Golden Flash growled at them threateningly, raising its tail, but Hiccup didn't stop. "Look," Hiccup said, "I know what you think of us. I know you don't like us. I know you think we're the enemies, and you think we're trying to hunt you, to hurt you…"

The Golden Flash growled again.

"But we're not," said Hiccup. "We only caged you because we were scared. We didn't know what else to do. Just like you attacked us because you were scared. You wanted to defend yourself, to protect yourself. That's why you stung me, isn't it? You thought we were trying to hurt you."

The Golden Flash growled once more. Although Hiccup couldn't see it, the dragon was slowly calming down to listen to Hiccup's words.

"And it's okay if we can't be friends, too," said Hiccup, "but we can share the Edge, and I can promise you that no one of us will ever hurt you. You will be respected by me, Astrid, the other riders, and our dragons."

"We've made peace with the other dragons living here," said Astrid, stepping up, just in front of the cage, where Hiccup was standing. "The Night Terrors. We made friends with them, and together, we're stronger than ever."

"Exactly," said Hiccup. "Like I said, you don't have to work _with_ us, as long as you don't work _against_ us. As long as we're around, no one will bother you."

The Golden Flash looked at Hiccup, somewhat confused, and somewhat considerate. Now that he thought about it, maybe this _could_ work...after all, the humans had never attacked it before it attacked them, and the Alpha human was right, the other dragon inhabitants of the Edge didn't have a problem with the dragon riders…

"Right now," said Hiccup, "we're under attack. There are crazy, dragon-killing people outside who will do anything and everything to bring us to the ground. We need your help, or we'll both lose the Edge for good."

The Golden Flash looked at Hiccup, and although Hiccup couldn't exactly look back, Hiccup could tell the dragon was looking at him, and Hiccup, slowly but surely, held out his hand, through the bars of the cell, and waited.

If this didn't work, the Edge and everyone on it were done for.

It took a few moments of considering on the Golden Flash's part, but then, finally, thankfully, the dragon pressed its muzzle just slightly into Hiccup's hand, and Hiccup smiled.

"There!" said Hiccup. "There we go!"

Astrid shook her head, smiling herself. "I'll never understand how you do that, Hiccup," she said.

"What? Negotiate?" said Hiccup, grinning. "It's easy! Toothless, hit the lever!"

Toothless nodded and flicked his tail at the lever protruding from the wall, and the instant he did, the door to Rusty's cage flew open, and the Golden Flash roared in glee. It turned and narrowed its eyes at the door; even from here, it could hear the shouts of approaching Berserkers.

The dragon growled lowly and shot from the door. Astrid watched it go, as did Toothless and Stormfly, while Hiccup stared in the direction of the door, beaming.

"Alright," he said. "Come on, Astrid! Let's back him up!"

"I couldn't agree with you more, Dragon Boy," said Astrid, and, hand-in-hand, Hiccup and Astrid raced outside.


	8. Chapter 8

**I AM SUCH AN IDIOT.**

 **OH MY GOSH I AM SUCH AN IDIOT.**

 **THIS CHAPTER WAS SITTING IN MY DOC WAITING TO BE POSTED, AND I THOUGHT I'D POSTED IT DAYS AGO, BUT I DIDN'T.**

 **I'M AN IDIOT.**

 **I was like, "Huh, that's strange, no reviews for chapter 8 yet, I wonder why...?" and then I actually CHECKED and realized I hadn't posted SQUAT.**

 **Sorry guys! I am so sorry! :(**

 **Anyways, LAST CHAPTER, WHOOT WHOOT! :D And, as promised, shout-outs! :D**

 **ShadowSpirt020: Thanks! :D Yeah! Find the cure! :D**

 **Dimensional Girl: Don't we all? :D**

 **la-hija-de-Dios: Yeahah! Go Golden Flash! :D Thanks! :D Yeah, I had some fun with this chapter, and I think it's obvious. :D Thanks for the review! :D**

 **Zoha Ven: Hahaha, yeah, that does sound kinda strange when you put it like that...XD I'm glad you're enjoying it! :D Yeah, one more chapter to go after this one, and then I can post a new story! :D That's always something to look forward to. :D Thanks for reviewing! :D**

 **Jesusfreak: Yahhoo! Whoopdedoooo! :D**

 **Star-The-Writer: Yep! :D Thanks! :D**

 **SilverGhostWolf: Oh my gosh, yeah, those Berserkers are going to GET IT. XD GO DRAGON RIDERS! :D**

 **Galaxy-Mitsuko-Pegasus: Go Hiccup and his crazy schemes, whoop whoop! :D**

 **22ablanchard: Hahaha, yeah, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy watching Hiccup crazy. :P**

 **1 Fan: I know, right? I can't believe it either! :( But you have this last chapter to read! :D**

 **Animals Rule: The world may never know. XD**

 **throughthelookingglass27: Yep! Go go go Hiccstrid! :D**

 **Animals Rule: Haha, that sounds hilarious! :D :D :D**

 **LunarCatNinja: I agree! Yeah! :D**

 **Mia Aisli: Thanks! :D**

 **Lyrasloon: Thanks a bunch! :D Yeah, I know what you mean! Who knows what's gonna happen with the gang on Healer's Island. At least we know that Hiccup and Astrid are thriving. :D Thanks for the review! :D**

 **Crystallion12: Haha, one moment we're angry with Rusty and the next moment we're cheering him on! XD**

 **DG-Agent37-Lover: Haha, unintentional DC reference there. XD I don't actually watch hardly any superhero movies. I enjoy them, but not as much as fantasy stories! XD Thanks a bunch! :D I am honored to be compared to King Cliffy Rick Riorden! (But honestly, that Mark of Athena cliffhanger was uncalled for :/ XD). Thanks for the review! :D**

 **hiccupandtoothless294: You got that right! :D**

 **Pastthestars5728: Hahaha, that's quite the compliment there! :D Thanks a bunch! :D It's always great to know I'm keeping all the characters in character, since sometimes I wonder whether I'm doing them justice! XD Thanks for the review! :D**

 **TheChosenOne260: I like writing about a blind!Hiccup, too! :D I don't know why! :D Thanks for the review! :D**

 **HTTYD forever: Here's the final chapter! :D**

 **Guest (#1): Here's the chapter! :D**

 **HTTYDLOVE: Chapter update, yahoo! :D**

* * *

The Berserkers continued through the forest. The moon hung high in the sky above them, indicating midnight. The smoke had cleared, and they headed on, crossbows in hand, watching their steps lest they trigger another one of Ruffnut and Tuffnut's boobytraps.

"Careful, men!" Dagur warned. "The dragon riders will stop at nothing to destroy us, so everyone watch the skies, and fire as soon as you see them!" He paused, thought of something, and then grabbed Savage and shoved him in front. "You! Lead the way!" demanded Dagur.

"Why me?" asked Savage furiously, narrowing his eyes at Dagur.

Dagur narrowed his eyes right back. "Because," said Dagur, " _I SAID SO!_ And the fact that your life has less value than mine. That could be a bit of a defining thing, too. Now, _get_ , or your life won't last much longer!"

Savage gulped. "Right, sire," he said, snapping his hand up into a salute, "of course, sire, sorry, sire-"

" _GET!"_ ordered Dagur, giving Savage another harsh shove, and Savage didn't argue a second time. He headed on, Dagur walking just behind him, and the remainder of the Berserkers following in pursuit.

"I can see their defensive wall from here, Dagur," said Savage, squinting, and then, pointing. "Once we make it over that, the rest should be easy."

"Oh, goodie!" cheered Dagur, grinning widely and clapping his hands together joyously. "That's what I wanted to hear! Scale the wall, and kill anything that moves! Don't hesitate, because if you _do_ , I _won't!"_

The men headed towards the base of the towering rock wall, and just before they began climbing, a roar issued from overhead, and then men froze where they stood, looking up at the sky in horror.

"Huh," said Dagur, once the roar ended, though it still echoed in the distance. "That didn't sound like one of Hiccup's dragon…" He paused, and then, he shrieked, "HURRY! _HURRY!_ CLIMB THE ROCK WALL, YOU FOOLS!"

The men scrambled to do as Dagur had asked, but none of them got far before the Golden Flash swooped overhead, raising its tail threateningly. The soldiers shrieked and ran in all directions, scattering and ducking to avoid the dragon's swooping talons and whip-like tail.

"Cowards!" screamed Dagur. "It's just a _dragon!"_

But even Dagur had to admit, the Golden Flash _was_ pretty intimidating. It was bigger than even a Titan Wing Monstrous Nightmare, and with its curved, jagged talons, looked more horrifying than any other dragon Dagur had ever seen before.

"Fine! Looks like I have to handle this myself!" said Dagur, and he pulled out his crossbow, aimed it straight at the Golden Flash, and was just about to pull the trigger, when suddenly, a rockslide of boulders came crashing from the side of the rock wall, and Dagur was forced to spring backwards to avoid getting crushed.

Though he saved himself, he didn't manage to save his crossbow, and it was smashed beneath the many boulders that came crashing down on it. Dagur looked at the giant pile of rocks, and then, up at the top of the rock wall.

…

"Yes! Success!" cheered Astrid, throwing her hands into the air.

"I have _no_ idea what just happened!" said Hiccup, also throwing his hands into the air. "But it sounded pretty successful! Are we ready for the next round of rocks?"

"Just about," said Astrid, looking down at the field of battle, and then up at the Golden Flash still circling overhead. "Wait for it...wait for it...and...now, Stormfly!"

Stormfly growled her acknowledgement and flicked her tail, knocking over a large pile of stones they had stacked. The rocks were knocked off the side of their defensive wall, and rained towards the Berserkers below.

"It's working!" said Hiccup, and then, he remembered that he still had Fishlegs' satchel full of Monstrous Nightmare gel and Zippleback gas. Formulating an idea, he grinned.

"Astrid," he said, "what do you say to Monstrous Nightmare gel on the next round of boulders?"

Astrid quickly caught on, and then, she grinned. "You fiendishly clever genius, Hiccup," said Astrid, and Hiccup pulled a jar from the satchel, and she took it from him, uncorking it. "Ready?"

"Ready," Hiccup agreed, and Astrid dumped the contents of the jar and two more jars of Monstrous Nightmare gel onto the boulders, and then, Stormfly lit the gel on fire and pushed the boulders off the side of the defensive wall.

…

Flaming boulders bounced off the sides of the wall, towards the Berserkers below like gigantic, threatening tumbleweeds blowing in the wind, and the Berserkers, screaming, turned and ran for their lives. The boulders _THUMPED!_ to the ground and set nearby trees ablaze; one stray boulder rolled a good twenty feet, lighting a long, wide stretch of forest floor on fire.

Dagur and the men still standing aimed crossbows up at Hiccup and Astrid, but unfortunately, they forgot all about the Golden Flash, still circling above their heads. The dragon swooped down, screeching like a deranged wildcat, tail slashing and talons spread, ready to snatch Dagur straight from the ground.

Dagur and the remaining men dodged; the rest of the men, holding burnt arms and trying to put out fires in their hair and on their pants, raced back towards the ships. On their way, they triggered another dozen of Ruffnut and Tuffnut's traps, one of which involved a giant barrel of Monstrous Nightmare gel, and another that involved five barrels of Zippleback gas.

The barrels burst open as they fell from trees and smashed against the ground, and Zippleback gas clouded the area.

The area full of flaming trees and floating embers.

…

Hiccup and Astrid stared as the Zippleback gas was ignited, and a ginormous mushroom-cloud the size of a small island was formed due to the amount of smoke. Astrid's eyes were wide, and though Hiccup couldn't see, his were, too.

"Wow," said Astrid, shaking her head. "That was a crazy explosion."

Hiccup nodded his agreement; he hadn't seen it, but he had heard it. Then, a thought struck him, and he frowned. "Oh no…" he said.

"What?" said Astrid. "What oh no?"

Hiccup shook his head. "We have become…" He paused, "...the twins."

…

On the burning ground below, the Golden Flash roared at nearby Berserkers, feining a pounce on the nearest ones to scare them into retreating. The Berserkers turned tail and ran for their lives, pursued by their fellows, until finally, only Dagur remained.

He was surrounded by fire and boulders, and he raised a balled fist up at the top of the rock wall.

"YOU WILL REGRET THIS DAY, HICCUP!" Dagur screamed to the wind. "YOU WILL REGRET THIS DAY!"

The Golden Flash lashed out at Dagur, and Dagur, barely avoiding getting stung, turned, yelped, and raced off, back through the forest, back towards his ships.

But before he got far at all, he triggered one last trap, and a large barrel of golden, sticky _something_ poured onto his head.

Dagur stuck out his tongue, trying to flick as much as the stuff off of him as he could. "What _is_ this?" he said, and he licked it experimentally. "Is this... _HONEY!?"_

…

Up on the defensive rock wall, Astrid burst into laugher, and Hiccup watched her, following the sound of her cackles. "What?" he asked blankly. "What happened? What's so funny?"

Astrid couldn't even speak, she was laughing so hard. She would never get that image out of her mind: Dagur the Deranged, waddling quickly like a penguin being chased by predators, covered from head to toe in honey, surrounded by fire and chased by the Golden Flash.

" _What, Astrid?"_ said Hiccup, confused, and Astrid only laughed harder.

"I'll...I'll...I'll tell you...tomorrow," said Astrid, still laughing, and it was still ridiculously hard to get the words out due to her laughter. "Oh my _Thor_ …"

Hiccup turned towards the sound of crackling, burning fires, and one of the many trees in the forest fell over, ablaze. Hiccup winced. "Did we win?" he finally said, when there were no more shouts of Berserkers or sounds of crossbow arrows shooting through the air.

Astrid's laughter finally faded, and she thought about what Hiccup had said. "I think we won," she said, a bit shocked, because _how had that happened?_ when they were so outnumbered.

Then, when she registered their victory, she was filled with triumph. "We won, Hiccup!" she shouted, and before he could say anything else, she hugged him tightly, feeling exhilarated. "We won! We won!"

 _"Yes!"_ Hiccup said, embracing her back tightly. "Not bad for two dragon riders on short notice, aye?"

"Not bad at all," said Astrid, and she pulled away, beaming at him, and he beamed right back at her.

…

Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins burst through the doors of the Clubhouse the next morning, Snotlout carrying a jar with him while the twins and Fishlegs had their mouths hanging open in shock.

Hiccup and Astrid looked towards the door (or, Astrid looked; Hiccup merely turned his head towards the noise), and Fishlegs, the twins, and Snotlout looked right back at them.

"Hiccup! Astrid!" said Snotlout urgently. "Someone burned down part of the forest! It looks horrible! What happened...?" Snotlout suddenly froze, staring at Hiccup and Astrid in confusion.

Hiccup and Astrid looked exhausted, and there were smudges of charcoal from smoke on their faces, along with ash in their hair. A few scratches littered their faces and arms.

And across the room, Rusty the Golden Flash was sleeping soundly with Toothless and Stormfly snoring nearby.

Now, _Snotlout's_ mouth hung open. "What... _happened?"_ he blurted.

"We'll tell you later," said Astrid, standing and making her way over, snatching the jar from Snotlout's hand. "Is this the cure?"

"Yep," said Fishlegs, "it's the cure."

"And you would not _believe_ ," said Snotlout, "what we went through to get _that_."

"It was actually kind of cool," said Tuffnut. "Snotlout totally enraged this Whispering Death, and the Whispering Death tried to turn us into kabobs. But we escaped, so that was good, but...yeah."

As Tuffnut was still talking, Astrid grabbed a nearby cup, yanked open the jar, and pouring the remedy into it.

"That destruction outside is beautiful," said Tuffnut. "True beauty. I love what you're doing with the place."

"It wasn't what we wanted," said Astrid, and she crossed the room again, grabbing Hiccup's hand and thrusting the cup into it. "Here's the cure."

Hiccup smelled the contents of the cup and frowned. "Are you sure this is the right thing, guys?" he asked. "Last time you brought back the cure of eel pox, you ended up making it a thousand times worse."

"It wasn't a _thousand_ times worse," grumbled Snotlout, crossing his arms. "Just drink it, Princess. Don't think about it."

Hiccup gave him a pointed look, and then, he downed the cure in one swallow. He squeezed his eyes shut and shivered, slamming the cup back down on the table. "Yeah…" he said, shaking his head. "Too late...I thought about it…" He shook his head again.

"So?" said Fishlegs, twiddling his thumbs. "Did...did it work?"

Hiccup opened his eyes, blinking. For a few moments, all he could see was black, but then, slowly but surely, the black faded out, and he was met with the faces of Snotlout, Fishlegs, Astrid, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut.

"It worked!" he said, grinning. "I can see!"

" _Wow!"_ said Snotlout. "And here I was thinking the twins Loki'd a fake cure into the jar when I wasn't looking."

"Um, but Hiccup…?" said Fishlegs. "Could you please explain to us why half of the forest is burnt down, and why the Golden Flash is sleeping in the Clubhouse?"

Hiccup and Astrid exchanged glances, and then, after sharing knowing grins, looked back at their friends.

"Yeah," said Hiccup. "Looks like we have a lot to talk about."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 **So, this is done! :D I hope you all liked it! Yeah, I did a bit of a longer ending chapter this time, which was nice. Normally my ending chapters are really short, so it's nice to make a change to that. :D**

 **AND I HAVE A HEADCANON ABOUT THE TWINS AND HICCUP, SO IF YOU WANT TO HEAR IT, LISTEN UP:**

 **I have a headcanon that Hiccup likes to take a little bit of extra time to spend with the twins. So, we all know that Astrid didn't respect the twins until later on in second season of RttE, and Snotlout definitely doesn't respect them (he was Tuffnut's "Best Friend" for a little while in season 1 of RttE, but there was nothing about that in season 2).**

 **And I think Fishlegs tolerates the twins more than he respects them…**

 **SOOOO I have a headcanon that Hiccup would spend extra time with the twins, just to make sure they still felt like a part of the team and not outcasts, like Hiccup felt while he was growing up. So whenever the twins go out to catch boars for their boarpit or prank Snotlout's hut when he's not looking, Hiccup tags along, just so they don't feel like they're always doing things alone.**

 **JUST IMAGINE IT, THOUGH. Imagine Hiccup hiding out somewhere while the twins set their pranks, and imagine him smiling and giving them thumbs-up when they turn around to ask his approval,** _ **because they're like his little brother and sister and he loves them like they're family and he wants to make sure they never feel like the aren't part of the team.**_

 **GAH.**

 **XD I don't know, maybe it's just me. XD Anyways, I hope you enjoyed "Blind Man's Bluff", and I'll see you all next story! :D**

 **Cheers!**

 **-BeyondTheClouds777**


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